Inside The Panthers

Pitt Basketball Facing Big Ten Opponent on Road

The Pitt Panthers will travel to face a top Big Ten opponent on the road this fall for basketball.

Dominic Campbell

Mar 15, 2024; Washington, D.C., USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel looks on from the sidelines against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2024; Washington, D.C., USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel looks on from the sidelines against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports / Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers found another one of their opponents for their basketball non-conference schedule this fall, as they'll travel to take on a Big Ten opponent.

Ohio State released their non-conference schedule, which features Pitt at home on Friday, Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving.

This will also serve as a home-and-away with the Panthers hosting the Buckeyes in the 2025-26 season, according to Jon Rothstein.

Pitt and Ohio State have faced off 26 times in their long history, with Ohio State holding a 15-11 advantage in the series.

They have only played each other twice this century, with the Panthers winning both games of the home-and-away. They took down the Buckeyes on the road on Dec. 19, 2001, 62-55, and they dominated them at the Petersen Events Center on Dec. 18, 2002, 69-49.

The prior 24 matchups in the all-times series came from 1926-1961, with Pitt winning seven straight games in the series from 1927-40 and Ohio State having a five-game winning streak from 1942-46 and a six-game winning streak from 1948-56.

The Panthers have played the Buckeyes the third most of any Big Ten team, just behind the Penn State Nittany Lions, 72-76 overall, and Rutgers, who they played against in the Big East, 24-25 overall.

Pitt legend Don Hennon dropped 41 points in a 73-70 win over Ohio State on Dec. 3, 1958 and Ed Pavlick scored 40 points in a 98-87 loss to Ohio State on Dec. 1, 1954, tied for the third and sixth most points in a game in program history.

The last Big Ten team Pitt faced was Northwestern on the road in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 28, 2022, where they put on a great shooting display in an 87-58 blowout.

The official non-conference schedule is not out yet, but there are a few games that Pitt has ready for next season.

They'll open up against Radford on Monday, Nov. 4 at home, travel to take on Mississippi State on Wednesday, Dec. 4, as a part of the SEC/ACC Challenge and host Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, Dec. 11, for three confirmed matchups with dates. 

Pitt also has the Greenbrier Tip-Off in Sulphur Springs, W.Va., Nov. 22-24, where they'll face LSU on Friday, Nov. 22 at 2:30 p.m.

If Pitt wins, they'll play in the Championship game on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 5:00 p.m. and if they lose, they'll play the same day at 2:30 p.m. They'll face either Wisconsin or UCF in the next round.

VMI is another home game as a part of the Greenbrier Tip-Off, and they'll face rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl at home too.

The ACC added three new schools for this upcoming with conference realignment making big changes across college sports. Those schools are SMU from the American Athletic Conference and both Cal and Stanford from the Pac-12.

ACC men's basketball keeps a 20-game slate, but changes how many times everyone plays each other. Each team has two primary opponents like previous, but just one repeat opponent, compared to four previously. Each team plays the other 14 teams once, for seven home games and seven away games. 

Pitt will keep Syracuse and Louisville as primary opponents and North Carolina will serve as next season's repeat opponent. They'll play Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, Stanford and Virginia at home and they'll travel to take on Duke, Florida State, NC State, Notre Dame, SMU, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest on the road.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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