Pitt has lost four in a row and eight of its past 10 games to plummet in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
While Saturday afternoon’s matchup against visiting Miami (6-18, 2-11 ACC) could provide a bounce-back opportunity, the Panthers (14-10, 5-8) almost certainly will have to do so without top scorer Jaland Lowe.
Lowe, who averages 16.5 points per game, exited Tuesday’s 83-63 loss after colliding with SMU’s Boopie Miller early in the second half. Pitt coach Jeff Capel said the sophomore guard “most likely” will miss Saturday’s game after being evaluated for a concussion.
Pitt will look to Ishmael Leggett to pick up the slack. While Leggett averages 15.9 points per game, he has struggled in the past two outings, shooting under 30 percent from the field and missing all 10 attempts from 3-point range.
Guillermo Diaz Graham provided a boost for Pitt on Tuesday by scoring a season-high 15 points.
The Panthers have fallen into a slump, but Capel remains optimistic that they can turn things around.
“The main thing now is that we have to stick together,” Capel said. “We have to keep believing. We have to keep showing up with the right attitude and we have to fight. We have to fight our way through this. I think we have the guys in the locker room to do that.”
Miami is in the midst of its worst season since 1993-94, the last time the program finished with single-digit wins. The Hurricanes are allowing a whopping 84.6 points per game in conference play.
While Miami is tied for last in the ACC, it has answered a 10-game skid by winning two of its past three — including Tuesday’s 91-84 victory over Syracuse. Matthew Cleveland (32) and Jalil Bethea (21) posted career highs in points, with the pair combining to make 16 of 21 shots from the floor.
Cleveland has found a rhythm over the past seven games, averaging 26.4 points per game while shooting 57.5 percent.
“That’s the thing I told our guys after the game: Let’s take our show on the road now,” Miami interim coach Bill Courtney said. “I mean, we’ve been getting better. … We’ve been showing the results. So if we can do that — again, concentrate on us getting better — we’ll be OK.”
–Field Level Media
