After winning a tough road game against Tennessee, the Panthers are back at home for a game against VMI.
While Pitt should win this one, they'd be wise not to overlook the Keydets. Most importantly, VMI enters the game as the 12th highest scoring team in college basketball, averaging nearly 84 points per game. Only once this season have they been held to under 70 points. They also have seven players averaging at least six points, so they spread the wealth around quite a bit.
That doesn't mean they're without star power, though. VMI's two main scorers are junior forward Stan Okoye and senior guard Keith Gabriel. Both average 17 points per game and Okoye is also the team's leading rebounder, grabbing more than five per contest.
Despite all those points, though, the fact is that VMI simply isn't a great team. They were blown out by 33 points in their only game against a ranked opponent, Ohio State. The Keydets have also lost three straight games and are only 3-4 on the season. Two of those recent losses have come at the hands of Coastal Carolina and Charleston Southern.
Another interesting fact is that VMI is 3-0 at home, but 0-4 on the road. Playing at the Pete, one of the nation's toughest arena's to play in, the Keydets will have a tough time picking up their first road win.
The Panthers will be playing their second game without starting point guard Tray Woodall, who's out for about a month due to injury. Head coach Jamie Dixon started redshirt freshman guard Cameron Wright in Pitt's last game against Tennessee on Saturday, but he didn't produce much offensively, going 0-6 from the field and scoring zero points in 25 minutes of action. Dixon may again start Wright, but I'm not sure he'll get as many minutes.
Another interesting position to look at will be center. Dante Taylor has outplayed true freshman Khem Birch in the team's past two games, but Birch has started each one. Taylor was previously the starter before missing a couple of games with migranes. Even more important than who starts is the number of minutes each will receive.
For more on Pitt basketball and the game, check out SB Nation's Pitt blog, Cardiac Hill.