3 early takeaways with Pittsburgh's partially set schedule for 2025-26 season

So far this offseason, around 15 college basketball teams have announced their complete non-conference schedules, including the ACC’s own, UNC Tar Heels. We’ve also seen updates from other ACC teams and what their non-conference campaigns are shaping up to be, including Louisville’s loaded slate of opponents.

For a team like Pittsburgh Basketball, there haven’t been too many updates to this point. But with months to go, expect there to be updates on who they’ll be playing next season. Based on what we know now, here are three early takeaways for the Panthers.

1. Early tough test in preseason

The first big look at this new-look roster will be on October 19th, when they host Providence in a home-and-home exhibition series. The Friars also missed the NCAA Tournament last season and added five transfers this offseason.

What will make this an interesting matchup is that their roster is opposite of Pitt in that Providence’s strength is in the backcourt. Vandy transfer Jason Edwards and former UCF guard Jaylin Sellers are 15+ ppg scorers at their previous spots. But there are questions in the frontcourt, needing GT transfer Duncan Powell to have an impact, along with Erhunmwunse Oswin being a sophomore breakout center.

It’s an exhibition game, but it’ll still be a good test for the Panthers, weeks before the start of the 2025-26 campaign.

2. Power conference non-con opponents

Five of Pitt’s 13 non-con opponents are known, including the season-opener against Youngstown State. There are three power conference opponents, including West Virginia, on the road in the annual rivalry matchup. For the third straight year, the Mountaineers are rebuilding their entire roster with a new head coach, making them a complete unknown.

The other two games are at home. One is the conclusion of the series against Ohio State. Star guard Bruce Thornton is back, along with other key returning pieces, John Mobley Jr., and Devin Royal. Texas A&M is the opponent in the SEC/ACC Challenge, making it a homecoming for former Pitt center Federiko Federiko. The Aggies have a completely new roster and coaching staff, but with Pop Isaacs and Mackenzie Mgbako joining the fold, they should be a tough opponent for the Panthers.

3. ACC matchups

The matchup pairings for Pitt’s ACC slate are out, and with the new setup, they won’t be playing Virginia Tech in the regular season. The Hokies project to be a mid-tier team, so it doesn’t help or hurt them. The Panthers will play their rival Syracuse twice, along with Clemson, a team that lost all of its key players from last season but had a strong portal haul, including landing transfer forwards Carter Welling (UV) and Nick Davidson (Nevada).

There’s still plenty to watch with this schedule, including who else they add in the non-conference schedule in the coming weeks.