After losing at home to Louisville, Pittsburgh Basketball needs a bounce-back, coming off two straight defeats for the first time this season. The good news is that they have a Quad 1 opportunity on the road at Florida State (11-5, 2-3 ACC). They’ve played well compared to low preseason expectations but are coming off a 20-point road loss at Clemson.
The Panthers can’t afford a loss on Wednesday night. Here are the keys to a win over the Seminoles.
1. Malique Ewin vs Cameron Corhen
FSU’s top player is Jamir Watkins, but their most important player at times is Ewin, a 6’10 forward and former JUCO All-American. He’s the team's only double-digit scorer, producing 13.8 ppg and 7.6 rpg. He’s been fantastic in league play, averaging 17.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg in five games. Corhen will get the assignment on him, and he’s been playing well, though his second half against Lousville, where he didn’t score a point or grab a rebound, was glaring. If Pitt can slow him down, the Seminoles offense will struggle altogether.
2. Pitt guards vs FSU’s size and length
This is a typical Coach Leonard Hamilton roster, with length and size throughout the entire rotation. Everyone outside of 6’1 freshman guard Daquan Davis, everyone else is at least 6’5, and the frontcourt players all have large wingspans, including both Ewin and Taylor Bol Bowen.
That’s important because it means Pitt’s guards are going to have a tough time getting into the lanes and having good shots at the basket inside. We saw the struggles Jaland Lowe and Ish Leggett had against Duke and while FSU isn’t of the same caliber, they still can create the same defensive gameplan to bother the Panthers, especially at home.
3. Dilemma at the 3-spot
As mentioned, Watkins is FSU’s best player, leading the team with 18.2 ppg on 33% from deep. The 6’7 wing starts at the three-spot, which means Zack Austin will get the early assignment on him. That works because he’s the best defender for the Panthers.
But as we saw in the Louisville game, the main lineup Pitt has includes Damian Dunn in the lineup as the third guard, while Austiin plays more at the four. So he’d have to deal with the taller Bowen at the four-spot, while Dunn or Leggett will deal with the bigger Watkins. We’ll see if Pitt’s three-guard lineup is effective or if they need to play bigger to match up with FSU.