Pitt at NC State: Panthers Face Road Test

The Pitt Panthers hope to keep their momentum rolling against N.C. State.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are back on the road after winning consecutive games at home and face a seasoned N.C. State team on their home turf. 

History is not on the Panthers' side and the matchup in the frontcourt is imposing but Pitt is playing of it's best basketball of the season and hopes to keep the momentum rolling in North Carolina. 

Game Info
Opponent: North Carolina State (15-7 overall, 7-4 ACC)
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Location: PNC Arena; Raleigh, North Carolina
Broadcast: ESPNU and 93.7 The Fan

Odds
Pitt is a 3.5-point underdog to the Wolfpack, with moneyline odds of +130 compared to -156 for N.C. State, according to Action Network. The point total line has been set at 127.5.

Crowded Standings
The Panthers enter this game sitting right in the middle of a log-jammed ACC right now after rallying from a 1-5 start to ACC play and winning four of their last five games. 

After Clemson knocked off No. 3 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, they joined Pitt, Syracuse and Virginia Tech in a now-four-way tie for eighth place in the ACC standings. Seventh-place Miami was embarrassed on the road against Virginia earlier this week and now owns just a half a game advantage over the Panthers and their fellow eighth place teams. Fourth place NC State is just two games ahead. 

Pitt can drag themselves up to seventh place and put themselves within striking distance of a double-bye in the ACC Tournament with an upset victory over the Wolfpack. 

Can't Miss D.J. Burns
Federiko Federiko and Guillermo Diaz Graham will have their hands full when they're down low against the Wolfpack this week because they are facing one of the most physically imposing big men in the country in N.C. State's D.J. Burns. 

Burns is listed at 275 pounds but he isn't just big - he's got skills. he's averaging an efficient 11.5 points per game and while he's not a dominant rebound, he's capable of pushing people around, as his 10-rebound effort last time out against Georgia Tech proves. 

Federiko stands 6'11 and Diaz Graham is 7'0 - they'll have a few inches on the 6'9 Burns but he will have at least 50 pounds on either of Pitt's centers. Head coach Jeff Capel will likely bring back some of the coaching points from the Wake Forest game, when the Panthers struggled to deal with Efton Reid in the post before Will Jeffress arrived to shut him down in the final minutes. 

Physicality and discipline are the words Capel repeated over and over about his frontcourt defense and they'll need plenty of that against Burns. 

Unfriendly History
Pitt is 2-8 over their last 10 games against N.C. State, a record that would look even uglier if not for back-to-back wins over the past two seasons. The Wolfpack own a 21-4 advantage in the all-time series, including a 2-5 record against Jeff Capel-coached teams. 

Five of those seven games Capel has coached in have been decided by five points or fewer, so it's not like N.C. State has dominated the Panthers routinely, but they have found ways to finish off wins more frequently. Closing games has been a problem for Pitt in the past and this young team will try to lean on experiences from their last, very successful road trip and overcome another more experienced roster. 

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