Pitt is back at home after a successful trip to Madison Square Garden for the 2K Sports Classic. The Panthers defeated Maryland and Texas on consecutive nights and now will try to take care of Robert Morris for a 29th straight time at home.
Robert Morris is itself coming off a big win, defeating Duquesne for the first time in several years. The Colonials will find a repeat performance difficult, however, as they're extremely undersized. The Colonials' tallest starter is 6-foot-6 Russell Johnson and there's no telling how they plan to defend Pitt's frontcourt consisting of 6-foot-10 Gary McGhee, 6-foot-9 Talib Zanna, and 6-foot-6 Gilbert Brown. And that doesn't even take into account backups like 6-foot-9 Dante Taylor and 6'7" J.J. Richardson. There's also undersized PF Nasir Robinson, who plays much bigger than his 6-foot-5 frame.
Gary McGhee is one guy to look to for a potential breakout game. He's played pretty good defense, but has been off to a slow start offensively, scoring only 4.2 points per game. Assuming he can stay out of foul trouble, McGhee could have a big night.
The Colonials are led by Johnson, who averages nearly a double double with 12 points and eight rebounds per game, and Karon Abraham who averages 14 points per game. Another reason Robert Morris may have trouble is its inaccuracy shooting the ball - RMU only makes about 35% of its shots, ranking 325th, near the bottom of the entire NCAA. As a result, RMU only averages 61 points per game.
Pitt, on the other hand, has been shooting at a 47% clip, and is 29th in the NCAA scoring 84 points per game.
Add it all up and it should equal a Pitt win.