Inside The Panthers

Pitt vs West Virginia Heats Up With Recording-Breaking Attendance

Pitt Panthers vs. West Virginia heats up with record-breaking attendance.

Dominic Campbell

Feb 14, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; The Pittsburgh Panthers student section reacts to the first Panthers basket against the Boston College Eagles during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Feb 14, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; The Pittsburgh Panthers student section reacts to the first Panthers basket against the Boston College Eagles during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have one of the best student sections in the country in the Oakland Zoo, who are readying themselves for a primetime matchup against rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl at the Petersen Events Center.

The Oakland Zoo announced that they have set an attendance record for their game vs. the Mountaineers, which tips off at 8:00 p.m. There are still limited tickets that remain, which students can buy prior.

The previous attendance record for the Oakland Zoo came against then ranked No. 11 Duke on Jan. 9, where 2,751 students saw Pitt lose 75-53.

This marks the 191st matchup between the two rivals, who started playing back in 1906. The Mountaineeers hold an 101-89 lead over the Panthers and winners of six of the past seven meetings.

The Backyard Brawl took place every season from 1918-2012, which featured 27 seasons from 1995-2012 that they played in the Big East.

WVU left for the Big 12 after 2012 and Pitt for the ACC in 2013, keeping the rivalry dormant for five seasons from 2012-17 before the teams restarted the rivalry in the 2017-18 season.

Pitt got its first win in the rivalry last season, in an 80-63 victory at WVU Coliseum on Dec. 6, 2023. Blake Hinson starred for Pitt, dropping 29 points, including a program record nine 3-pointers as well.

Pitt hasn't defeated West Virginia at home since Feb. 24, 2011, when the No. 4 ranked team took down their rival, 71-58.

West Virginia has won the past four games at the Petersen Events Center, in 2012, their final Big East meeting and then in 2017, 2019 and 2022.

The Backyard Brawl will take place through the 2027-28 season, with the last renewal occurring in January, which kept the rivalry going after their meeting last season.

Pitt has won their past nine game at home, including their last six in last season and then the first three games this season, vs. Radford on Nov. 4, Murray State on Nov. 8 and Gardner-Webb on Nov. 11.

Panthers head coach Jeff Capel wants to get the program back to the early years of the Petersen Events Center in 2002, when the team never lost at home and it was the most desired sporting event to attend to in Pittsburgh.

"Well, it'll be interesting to see how we react to it," Capel said. "This'll be our first time in this type of environment. We hope to have these types of environments all the time. Hopefully, we can build it where anytime we play here, it's like that.

"I know when I first took the job, people around town, people affiliated with the pro sports teams, would tell me that, when they had it going, this was the hardest ticket to get. My hope is to get it back like that so every game is like that, but for it being the first time that it's going to be like that in the building tomorrow, I'm interested in how we respond to that.

"I know we'll be juiced. Will we be jittery? Will we have to slow down a little bit? Will we, so it's all these types of things that go into, when you play in great environments, they can bring out a lot of different things. So I'm interested to learn about that tomorow."

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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