Preview: Pitt Battles LSU in Greenbrier Tip-Off

The Pitt Panthers battle LSU In Greenbrier Tip-Off.

Conor Hutchison | Nov 22, 2024

Nov 18, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Ishmael Leggett (5) dribbles the ball against the Virginia Military Keydets during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers concluded their home stand with a 45-point win against VMI on Nov. 18, and will head out to battle the LSU Tigers in the Greenbrier Tip-Off on Nov. 22.

What is the Greenbrier Tip-Off?

The Greenbrier Tip-Off is a preseason/non-conference tournament that takes place at the five-star luxury resort, The Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.,

The location for the resort is in the Allegheny Mountains, 250 miles south of Pittsburgh close to the West Virginia-Virginia border. The Greenbrier posseses a number of indoor and outdoor activities, numerous shops, 20 dining and lounge venues, five golf courses, signature spa services and an on-property casino on more than 11,000 acres.

The teams will face off at the 1,000 person capacity Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier. The hall hosts extravagant balls, fancy dinners, fun concerts and enthralling conventions. Marshall and Radford faced off in a sellout match at the venue last season, with Radford pulling off the close 66-62 victory.

Mid-major teams played at The GreenBrier in the River Division last weekend, which included VMI, Charleston Southern, Tennessee Tech and UT Rio Grande Valley.

UTRGV came out victorious in the championship over Tennessee Tech, while VMI defeated Charleston Southern to take third place.

Each of these teams in the River Divison faced a Power Four opponent in the Mountain Division. Pitt defeated VMI, LSU took down Charleston Southern, No. 19 Wisconsin outlasted UTRGV and UCF beat Tennessee Tech.

Pitt will face LSU at 2:30 p.m. and then Wisconsin faces UCF at 5:00 p.m. The winners will play each other in the Championship at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 24 and the losers will play in the Third Place Game at 3:00 p.m. the same day.

Pitt vs. LSU Preview

Pitt is riding high after routing West Virginia 86-62 and dominating VMI 93-48 — where Pitt sophomore guard Jaland Lowe recorded a triple-double, just the sixth in program history.

Through five games, the Panthers' closest win was 15-points over Murray State. Such performances moved Pitt up to No. 15 in the Pomeroy rankings. Despite the high statistical ranking, the Panthers only received nine votes in the most recent AP Poll, keeping them outside the top 25.

What LSU Brings to this Matchup

While still undefeated, LSU has played much closer contests than Pitt, winning by smaller and smaller margins as the season has progressed.

After opening their season with a 35-point win vs. ULM on Nov. 6, LSU won by 13 points against Alabama State on Nov. 10, 11 points against Kansas State on the road on Nov. 14 and most recently nine points against Charleston Southern on Nov. 19. They currently sit at No. 48 in the Pomeroy rankings.

Third-year head coach Matt McMahon is looking to build off a 17-win season that was good enough for 7th in the SEC. After inheriting a program that suffered severely from previous head coach Will Wade's recruiting violations, McMahon will try and guide his team to the NCAA Tournament for the first time with the Tigers.

Senior guard Cam Carter, a two-year starter at Kansas State, transferred to LSU partly to be closer to his hometown of Donaldsonville, La, just 40 miles from LSU, and has had a solid season so far.

Carter was the second-leading scorer for Kansas State last season at 14.6 points per game. He is an experienced wing player who can create offense for others and score in multiple ways.

He wasn't a strong shooter from deep in previous seasons, but through four games with his new the Tigers, he has shot 12-for-21 (57.1%) from 3-point range. Carter averages 29 minutes and a team-high 17.8 points per game, while shooting 88.2% from the foul line this season.

Fifth-year senior guard Jordan Sears, who averages 13.8 points and a team-leading two steals per game, serves as another important piece of the LSU offense.

Sears is an extremely experienced college basketball player, with this matchup vs. Pitt serving as his 91st collegiate start and 126th game overall.

He stands at 5-foot-11, but despite playing as a shorter guard, he has produced consistently throughout his collegiate career.

Sears averaged 15.3 and 21.6 points per game as a two-year starter for UT Martin. He shot 43.2% from deep last season --a mark that becomes even more impressive as he played 33.6 minutes per game. Sears is a dynamic guard that can score on all three levels and create open shots for others.

Similar to the Panthers, the Tigers' frontcourt rosters a lot of height, as they have three forwards that average over six rebounds per game, all standing at six-foot-eight or taller.

Junior forward Jalen Reed, who stands at 6-foot-10, leads the Tigers with 6.8 rebounds and adds an efficient 10.3 points per game,

The last time the Panthers faced a team with players of a similar height was last week against the Mountaineers. The difference, though, was that the Mountaineers struggled with depth in their frontcourt.

The Tigers do not have that issue, as they have both fifth-year senior forward Derek Fountain, who stands at 6-foot-10 and grabs 6.5 rebounds per game, and redshirt first-year forward Corey Chest, who stands at 6-foot-8 and makes and 6.3 rebounds per game.

The Panthers built a reputation as a three-point shooting team last season with Bub Carrington and Blake Hinson.

While the Panthers still roster several great 3-point shooters this season, the team has battled through some shooting struggles.

The Tigers actually average more three-point attempts (23.25) than the Panthers (21.8), but the Panthers are more efficient on those shots, as the Panthers are making 37% of their three-pointers, compared to the Tigers at 31.2%.

Pitt shot 12-28 (42.9%) from deep against VMI, with junior forward Jorge Diaz Graham shooting 4-for-4 from deep in his eight minutes of action to bolster that number coming off the bench.

All five starters for Pitt scored in double figures and, of course, Lowe recorded his triple-double. A 45-point win where everybody contributed is the perfect tune-up game for the Panthers' first road trip.

But LSU rosters real offensive engines and length in the frontcourt. It could be Pitt's toughest game yet.