Pitt hopes to move up to No. 3 in the polls next week if it can defeat Penn at home on Saturday. They have Duke and conference foe UConn to thank for that opportunity after the Blue Devils and Huskies defeated No. 4 Kansas State and No. 2 Michigan State, respectively. Both KSU and MSU also received a combined total of nine first-place votes in the two polls last week. Depending on how those voters rated Pitt, the Panthers could conceivably garner a No. 1 vote or two.
But before any of that happens, there's a game to be played against the Penn Quakers.
Penn is 2-2 on the season, having defeated Davidson and Lafayette and lost to Drexel and Manhattan. Penn is facing some pretty stiff competition this season with games against top ten teams Pitt, Villanova, and Kentucky.
Pitt enters the game No. 4 in the country in rebounding. After this game, they could be rated even higher. The Quakers have apparently taken their passive nickname to the basketball court as well as they rank near the bottom of the NCAAs in rebounding. Pitt should have no trouble bullying Penn on the glass and enjoy a nice rebounding edge by the end of the game.
Two players the Panthers will need to be vary of are forward Jack Eggleston and guard Zack Rosen. The duo averages nearly 31.0 points per game and Eggleston has shot 54.5% from three-point range. He doesn't take many of them (he's only attempted 11 on the season through four games), but he could shoot more on Saturday in order to help Penn keep up with the Panthers. Eggleston also shoots over 60% from the field and leads the Quakers in rebounding with nearly seven per game.
Still, Pitt figures to be too much for the Quakers in this matchup and, at home, should post a victory.