Pitt vs Florida Gulf Coast: Game Info, Odds, Three Storylines
PITTSBURGH -- Dunk City visits the Steel City tonight as the Pitt Panthers play host to Florida Gulf Coast University, best known for their high-flying run to the 2013 Sweet 16.
It's a whole new generation of Eagles that will lace up tonight at the Petersen Events Center but they will still pose a formidable challenge to the Panthers, who will look to start 3-0 for just the second time in Jeff Capel's six seasons as head coach.
Game Info
Opponent: Florida Gulf Coast (1-1 overall, 0-0 Atlantic Sun)
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Petersen Events Center; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Broadcast: ACC Network and 93.7 The Fan
Odds
Pitt is a 9.5-point favorite over the Eagles and are favored on the moneyline at -450 odds to +350 odds for Florida Gulf Coast. The point total line has been set at 145.5.
Three Storylines
More Pressure on Backcourt
Like most mid-major teams, Florida Gulf Coast is led by their guards and that strong backcourt led by Franco Miller, Dallion Johnson, Chase Johnston and Cyrus Largie, who combine to account for 48.5% of the team's points and 53.5% of their assists. Three of them are seniors and one is a junior.
Those four orchestrate a fantastic Eagles offense. They're ranked No. 111 in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency metric, 40th among non-high-major teams. They shot 3-pointers as often (the fifth-highest rate in all of college basketball) and make them as frequently (the 73rd-highest shooting percentage in Division I) as anyone in the country.
Bub Carrington, Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett will have their hands full both defensively, as they are forced to extend their man-to-man pressure up past the 3-point line, and offensively as they contend with four seasoned upperclassmen guard for the Eagles.
Competition Continues to Level Up
The Panthers opened 2023-24 by facing one of the worst teams in college basketball in North Carolina A&T. The competition took a small step up next time out against Binghamton and the Eagles will be their biggest challenge yet.
Florida Gulf Coast came within inches of pulling off a major upset over Indiana on the road in their own season opener and currently sits at No. 136 in the latest KenPom rankings, well ahead of ACC members Louisville and Notre Dame. The Eagles are a good basketball team and easily the best mid-major team the Panthers will face during their non-conference schedule.
After this, Pitt will get one more "tune-up" game against Jacksonville before kicking off a stretch of five straight games against high-major opponents. They're in a groove right now but it will be crucial to keep that momentum going and avoid any hiccups going into what could be their most difficult stretch of the year.
Searching for Improvements
It's hard to find anything to nitpick about the Panthers' first two impressive outings of the season - a pair of blowout wins over inferior opponents that looked largely sharp on both ends of the floor.
But senior forward Blake Hinson had no trouble finding room for potential improvement after beating Binghamton. He called out the Panthers' individual defense, saying that he and "a select few" of his teammates need to be better in order to keep their shot-blockers on the backline like Federiko Federiko, Guillermo Diaz Graham, Zack Austin and others out of bad situations.
"It saved us, but we can’t keep relying on that," Hinson said. "They’re going to do our job but we also have to do our job to keep those guys from getting downhill. So thank God they’re there, but we have to get better on defense, for sure."
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