The NC State men’s basketball team will host the Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday inside PNC Arena looking to complete the season sweep.
The Wolfpack (11-9, 7-8 ACC) is coming off its biggest win of the season, a 68-61 upset of No. 15 Virginia on the road. The win was the Pack’s third straight, as well as fourth straight on the road and second over a top-25 team this season.
Since falling 74-73 at home to NC State on Feb. 17, the Panthers (9-9, 5-8 ACC) fell 79-72 at home to Florida State on Feb. 20. They have now lost their last four games in a row and seven out of their last eight since starting 4-1 in ACC play.
Just like the last matchup between these two teams, the key to NC State’s game plan will be slowing down Pitt forward Justin Champagnie, the ACC’s leader in points per game and rebounds per game. In the first matchup against the Pack, Champagnie was held to just 3-for-11 shooting from the field but did most of his damage from the free-throw line, knocking down 11 of his 16 free-throw attempts to finish with a game-high 18 points. He also finished with 10 rebounds to give him a double-double.
The big story for Pitt in the past week has been the announced departure of two key players, guards Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney. Both players were averaging double figures in scoring and scored in double figures in the first matchup against NC State, but it has since been announced that each player would be entering the transfer portal and would not play any more games for Pitt this season.
With two of Pitt’s most productive players gone, expect Champagnie to carry even more of the load for the Panthers, and for NC State to key in on him even more than the first game.
While the Panthers are struggling, they are by no means a pushover. Pitt’s last four losses have been by single digits, including the loss to Florida State, which is probably the best team in the ACC right now. While the Panthers had Johnson in the lineup for that game, they did play without Toney, so they know how to play without at least one of their key players.
It will be interesting to see how Pitt plays without Johnson and Toney. The question will be whether the team is dejected and has given up on the season or if the team rallies and plays desperately.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how NC State follows up its biggest win of the season. The Pack is playing arguably its best basketball of the season right now, and its confidence level is probably at an all-time high. With just three regular season games left, it’s crucial that the Pack keeps winning to have momentum going into postseason play.
The game is at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
