Pittsburgh Panthers Stats at Insiders Betting Digest

Panthers

Pittsburgh Panthers

NCAAB – ACC

Arena: Petersen Events Center
Coach: Jeff Capel III

TEAM LEADERS

Pittsburgh Panthers

Team Summary

The Pittsburgh Panthers currently have a 7-11 record, as they’re in third to last place in the ACC.

They’re led by coach Jeff Capel, who is in his fourth season with the program.

John Hugley, Jamarious Burton, and Femi Okudale are the leading scorers for the Panthers. Odukale and Burton are the leading assist men.

Pittsburgh is currently last in the conference in scoring, as they average just 62.4 points per game. However, their defense is giving up 65.0 points per game, which is third-best in the conference.

They’re a middle-of-the-pack rebounding team in the conference, averaging 35.6 boards per game as a collective group.

Despite their poor record, they have one win they can be proud of, as they defeated the Louisville Cardinals 65-53. Burton led the way with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

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Team History

Pittsburgh has had many great players in school history, including Charles Smith, Don Hennon, Billy Knight, and others.

The Panthers have never won an NCAA Tournament, but they’ve been 26 times, with one trip to the Final Four, three trips to the Elite Eight, and seven trips to the Sweet 16. Their lone trip to the Final Four came in 1941.

However, the Panthers did earn two Helms Foundation National Championships as they came in the years 1928 and 1930. They earned the selections retroactively in 1943, with the founders of the foundation, Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms, retroactively picking champions from the years 1919-20 through 1941-42.

Since their first season in 1905, they’ve compiled a 1,626-1,187 record throughout their history.

Pittsburgh has had 16 coaches in their history, with Doc Carlson being the longest-tenured one.

2022 Key Stats

John Hugley is the team’s leading scorer, as he averages 15.8 points on 46.3 percent shooting to go along with a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game.

Jamarius Burton is the second-leading scorer on the team, as he averages 12.9 points per game. He also averages 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Femi Okudale averages 11.8 points to go along with 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

The most points Pittsburgh has put up in a game this season was 73. However, that came in a loss to the UMBC Retrievers.

Pittsburgh’s defense is giving up 65.0 points per game, which is third-best in the conference.

They’re averaging 35.6 boards per game as a collective group, good for eighth place in the conference.

They’re dead last in the conference in 3-point makes with 84.

Important Team Events

The Panthers went to the Final Four in 1941; granted, only eight teams made the NCAA Tournament at that time. They defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Elite Eight 26-20 before losing to the Wisconsin Badgers 36-30.

Their last appearance in the Elite Eight came back in 2009, but they lost to the Villanova Wildcats. They defeated the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, Oklahoma State Sooners, and Xavier Musketeers on their run to the Elite Eight.

Sam Young averaged 23.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game during the tournament. DeJuan Blair put up averages of 16.8 points and 13.8 rebounds per game.

Pittsburgh got to the Elite Eight in 1974 but took a loss to the NC State Wolfpack. They defeated the St. Joseph’s Hawks in the first round and Furman Paladins in the second round. Get the latest March Madness rankings, lists and more on Insiders Betting Digets.

Top Players

Charles Smith was a Second Team All-American in 1988, as well as a two-time First Team All-Big East and two-time Third Team All-Big East selection. Smith put up 2,045 points during his time there, which is the most in program history. He also has the most blocks in Pittsburgh history with 346 and the second most rebounds with 987.

He was the first-ever Pittsburgh player to be drafted into the first round in NBA history. He was selected with the third overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers but was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Smith went on to have a 10-year career with stints with the Clippers, New York Knicks, and San Antonio Spurs.

Don Hennon could very well be the best shooter and scorer in the program’s history, as his average of 24.2 points per game is still a school record. He also has the most points in a single game with 45. He got drafted by the Cincinnati Royals, but turned down a chance to play in the NBA to study medicine.

Billy Knight averaged at least 20 points and ten rebounds at Pitt, as he was a consensus Second Team All-American. He helped the program reach the Final Four in 1974. After his time at Pitt, he moved on to the ABA and then the NBA, enjoying a combined 11-year career with stints with the Indiana Pacers, Buffalo Braves, Boston Celtics, Kansas City Kings, and San Antonio Spurs.

Sam Young was a two-time First Team All-Big East during his time there, as he helped Pitt get to the Elite Eight in 2009. He played four seasons in the NBA, with the Memphis Grizzlies, Philadelphia 76ers, and Indiana Pacers.

Steven Adams was on the Big East All-Rookie team in 2013. He’s currently playing with the Memphis Grizzlies, as he had stints with the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder as well.

Top Coaches

Doc Carlson is the all-time winningest coach in Pitt history, as he compiled a 366-249 record over his 31 seasons coaching the club.

Carlson was made famous for his Figure 8 offense; a concept other coaches ended up copying. He led the Panthers to the Eastern Interconference Conference championships in four of the seven years of the conference’s existence. He became the first coach ever to take his team out West, as they beat the Kansas Jayhawks, Colorado Boulders, Stanford Cardinals, and USC Trojans.

Jamie Dixon is the second-winningest coach of all time, as he had a 328-123 record in his 13 seasons with the program. Dixon went to the NCAA Tournament 11 times there, including one Elite Eight appearance and three Sweet 16 appearances.