West Virginia - Pitt Extend Series

The hardwood edition of the Backyard Brawl Series extended

Doug Johnson - Sports Illustrated: Mountaineer Maven

Morgantown, WV - West Virginia Athletic Director Shane Lyons announced West Virginia and Pitt will extend the basketball series through 2023. This year's edition of the Backyard Brawl takes place in Morgantown on November 13 and is the final game of the original four-game agreement announced in 2016. 

The two-year extension has Pitt returning to Morgantown next season (2021-22) and returning the favor traveling to the Peterson Event Center in Pittsburgh during the 2022-23 season. 

“We are certainly pleased to extend the men’s basketball series between West Virginia and Pitt,” Lyons said in a statement released by the Athletics Communications Department. “I’ve said numerous times that one of my first goals as athletic director was to renew the football and basketball series with Pitt because it is good for both schools. I want to thank Heather Lyke (Pitt Director of Athletics), coach (Bob) Huggins, and coach (Jeff) Capel for their efforts in extending the basketball series. The fans are the real winners because this series is great for college basketball.”

West Virginia has won four straight over the Panthers and hold a 99-88 edge in the all-time series dating back to 1906. 

Oscar Tshiebwe led the Mountaineers with his first career double-double 20 points and a career-high 17 rebounds while Emmitt Matthews Jr tamed the Panthers with 17 points and 8 rebounds in a win over Pitt, last season, 68-53 at the Peterson Event Center.

“The Pitt game has been our biggest rival,” Huggins said. “We are thrilled to add another two games to the series. During the last three months or so, I’ve seen numerous WVU-Pitt games being replayed on ESPN. In addition to both fan bases, there is always a national interest in the Backyard Brawl.”

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