Completing its first long trip as part of the no-longer-accurately-named Atlantic Coast Conference, Stanford will try to hand Pitt its first league loss on Saturday.
The Cardinal (9-4, 1-1) opened the new year with an 85-71 defeat at Clemson on Wednesday.
“The West to East thing wasn’t an issue,” Cardinal first-year coach Kyle Smith said after the loss. “I feel like it’s fun being in the ACC. It’s pretty cool. Now we have to go up to Pittsburgh and take that challenge on.”
The Cardinal, losers of two straight, are led by 7-foot-1 center Maxime Raynaud, who was the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player last season. He has put up even bigger numbers for the Cardinal this season with 11 double-doubles and a 20.8 points-per-game average. Duke transfer Jaylen Blakes is in the midst of a breakthrough season for Stanford, averaging 15.2 ppg.
The Panthers (11-2, 2-0) have won four straight by a combined 89 points and received 35 votes in the most recent AP poll. Pitt erased a 16-point deficit to Cal its last time out on Wednesday, getting 27 points from Jaland Lowe en route to an 86-74 win. Lowe is tied for 17th in the nation at 6.2 assists a game.
“I think Jaland is as good a guard as there is in college basketball,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “With good players, you just want to put them in a position where they can make reads and make plays.”
Pitt was without leading scorer Ishmael Leggett against Cal. Capel said Leggett rolled his ankle in practice on Dec. 28 and his lateral movement wasn’t adequate to play. Leggett’s status for the Stanford game was unknown. The Panthers also play at No. 4 Duke on Tuesday.
Along with averaging 17.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, Leggett is shooting a career-high 51.3 percent from the floor and 32.7 percent from 3-point range.
Pitt was already without standout 6-foot-5 guard Damian Dunn, who dislocated his thumb in late November. However, Dunn is on track to return sometime this month, according to Capel.
Pitt is scoring 84.2 points a game, which ranks 32nd in the nation, and shooting 49 percent from the floor. Stanford is allowing 71.1 ppg.
Stanford and Pitt last met in 2013, with the Panthers winning 88-67 in New York.
–Field Level Media
