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The Pittsburgh Panthers step into the 2024-25 college basketball season with a ton of promise despite not making the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Panthers went 12-8 in the ACC and 22-11 overall, but their performance wasn't enough to award them a berth in the tournament.
After guiding his team to excellent performances over the past two seasons, Pittsburgh awarded coach Jeff Capel a contract extension until 2029-30. Capel will now lead the Panthers into an expanded conference that welcomed Stanford, SMU and California into the fold.
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Pittsburgh parades a solid lineup of 10 returnees, four freshmen and two transferees. They will hope to perform better in the 2024-25 regular season and make the NCAA Tournament after failing to secure a bid last season.
Pittsburgh men's basketball 2024-25 season preview: Biggest games, key players to watch and more
Pittsburgh's biggest games in the 2024-25 season
Pittsburgh is yet to complete its non-conference schedule but has a mini-tournament lined up for them on Nov. 22 and 24. The Panthers will compete in the first Greenbrier Tip-off Tournament which also features, UTRGV, Charleston Southern, VMI, Tennessee Tech, LSU, Central Florida and Wisconsin.
The tournament will be divided into two divisions, with the River Division comprising UTRGV, Charleston Southern, VMI and Tennessee Tech. The other group — the Mountain Division — is Pittsburgh, LSU, Central Florida and Wisconsin.
The River Division will play on Nov. 15 and 16, while the Mountain Division will stage their games on Nov. 22 and 24. The first day of each week will be a knockout game, with the winners qualifying for the championship game on the second day and the losers playing for third place.
Pittsburgh will be up against LSU in the first game in the Mountain Division at 2:30 p.m. ET, while the Wisconsin-Central Florida pairing takes place at 5 p.m. ET. Pittsburgh is 2-2 all-time against LSU.
The Panthers, meanwhile, meet Mississippi State at Starkville on Dec. 4. The Jeff Capel-coached squad are 1-1 all-time against the Bulldogs, and Pittsburgh won their last encounter 60-59 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament at the Dayton Arena.
Pittsburgh will have a 20-game regular season schedule where they play Louisville, Syracuse, North Carolina, Boston College, California, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, Stanford and Virginia at home.
The Panthers visit Louisville, Syracuse, North Carolina, Duke, Florida State, NC State, Notre Dame, SMU, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
The dates of the ACC 2024-25 regular season games will be given at a later date.
Key Pittsburgh players to watch out for in the 2024-25 season
With leading scorers Blake Hinson and Carlton Carrington exhausting their collegiate playing years, No. 3 scorer Ishmael Leggett will step up as Pittsburgh's leader and go-to guy.
Last season, Leggett averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He shot 42.7%, including 34.3% from the 3-point line and 85.9% from free throws.
He will have help with Jaland Love, Zack Austin and Guillermo Diaz Graham backstopping Leggett, plus transfer players Damian Dunn and Cameron Corhen. Dunn comes from Houston and Temple, where he averaged 11.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg and 1.8 apg in 109 games. Corhen tallied 8.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest in two seasons with Florida State.
Jeff Capel also recruited four players from high school: six-foot-three Brandin Cummings, six-foot-eight Amsal Delalic, six-foot-nine Liam Mignogna and six-foot-10 Amdy Ndiaye. Cummings is a three-star combo guard who could boost the Panthers' backcourt, while Delalic could provide mismatches with his length.
Mignognga and Ndiaye would provide frontcourt depth for Pittsburgh which has Papa Amadou Ndiaye, Corhen and the Diaz-Graham twins patrolling the paint.
Pittsburgh's predictions for the 2024-25 season
Pittsburgh will figure prominently in the 2024-25 NCAA men's basketball season, with 10 players returning for another year despite missing the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Ishmael Leggett will spearhead the attack, while twins Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham, Zach Austin and Jaland Love will provide veteran help.
Transfer players Damian Dunn and Cameron Corhen are also capable of helping Pittsburgh's cause next season as are high school recruits Brandin Cummings and Amsal Delalic. The Panthers are expected to go 24-7 this season and secure one of the 68 bids in the NCAA Tournament.
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