Preview: Pitt Faces Wisconsin in Greenbrier Tip-Off

Pitt Panthers face Wisconsin in Greenbrier Tip-off Championship.

Conor Hutchison | Nov 24, 2024

Nov 18, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Jaland Lowe (15) brings the ball up court against Virginia Military Keydets guard Rickey Bradley Jr. (1) 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 face off against the No. 19 WIsconsin Badgers, with the two undefeated teams going up for the Greenbrier Tip-Off Championship.

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, Wisconsin outlasted UTRGV and UCF beat Tennessee Tech.

Pitt would defeat LSU on Nov. 22 in the first game, a 74-63 victory, improving to 6-0, their best start to a season since 2018-19, the first season of head coach Jeff Capel.

Wisconsin handled UCF, 86-70, in the game after, setting them up against Pitt in the Championship game.

Pitt vs. Wisconsin Preview

After the win over LSU, Pitt moved up to No. 13 in the Pomeroy College Basketball rankings. Despite being well inside the top 25 of one of the most respected rankings, the Panthers have yet to crack the AP Top 25, receiving votes in the latest poll. The Badgers rank 30th in the Pomeroy rankings.

Wisconsin's ranking isn't undeserved, though, as they upset then ranked No. 9 Arizona on Nov. 15, with a dominant 103-88 win at home.

The decisive win came behind a career-high 41 points for Wisconsin graduate student guard John Tonje -- two points shy of the school record for points in a game. The Missouri transfer shot 8-for-14 from the field with four of his makes from deep. Incredibly, Tonje shot 21-for-22 from the free-throw line.

He is currently averaging a team-high 21.3 points per game for the Badgers this season. Even excluding the big game against the Wildcats, Tonje is still averaging a team-leading 17.4 points per game.

The Badgers roster several players that can lead them in scoring any given night. Wisconsin's second-leading scorer is sophomore guard John Blackwell, who averages 16.3 points per game and is lethal from beyond the arc and is shooting 41.7% from three-point range in the first six games

Completing a trio of guards that play about 30 minutes per game is senior guard Max Klesmit, who is averaging 13.3 points per game, despite shooting struggles. He is important for the Badgers on the defensive end, recording a team-leading 2.3 steals per game.

Sophomore forward Nolan Winter leads the Wisconsin frontcourt. Standing 7-feet-tall, Winter leads the Badgers with six rebounds and adds nine points per game. Another seven-footer for the Badgers is graduate student forward Steven Crowl, who leads Wisconsin with 3.3 assists per game.

In stark contrast to the Panthers, the Badgers do not block many shots, even with their height, averaging only 2.2 blocks per game compared to the Panthers' 6.2 blocks per game.

Pitt's guards have captured the attention of the nation. Against LSU, Pitt sophomore guard Jaland Lowe scored 19 of his career-high 22 points in the second half and collected eight rebounds and six assists on his way.

Lowe also recorded a triple-double in the 93-48 win vs. VMI back on Nov. 18 at home. He scored 11 points, shooting 4-for-8 from the field, making a 3-pointer and adding two free throws, while also grabbing 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Senior guard Ishmael Leggett scored 21 points and recorded five steals in the win over the Tigers. He has had a great season overall and is shooting 60.3% from the field and 40.9% from 3-point range.

While the Panthers have started slow in many of their games to start the season, they always start the second half faster and scoring most efficiently.

Pitt will look to end those early struggles subside, relying on their guard trio of Lowe, Leggett, and graduate student guard Damian Dunn that can take turns dominating any period. If this is the case, Wisconsin is in for a tough day.