Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge and the Mountaineers will host their first Power Four opponent of the season Thursday when rival Pitt visits the Hope Coliseum for the 192nd edition of the Backyard Brawl.
WVU is off to a 3–0 start under Hodge, posting wins over Mount St. Mary’s, Campbell, and Lehigh. The Panthers, led by eighth-year head coach Jeff Capel, are also unbeaten at 3–0.
Pitt is coming off a 78–66 victory over Eastern Michigan on Monday, a game it won without leading scorer Brandin Cummings. Seven Panthers scored at least seven points in the win, including senior Cameron Corhen, who tallied 16 points and is averaging 15.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Freshman Omari Witherspoon added a career-high 15 points.
Cummings, who leads Pitt in scoring (18.5 ppg), three-point percentage (58.3%), and steals, is listed as a game-time decision. The 6-foot-3 guard is shooting 50 percent from the field.
Demarco Minor ranks second on the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game and leads the Panthers with three assists per contest while shooting 50 percent from deep and 53.8 percent overall. Roman Siulepa (9.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Nojus Indrusaitis (9.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) round out the starting lineup.
The Mountaineers are led by senior forward Brenen Lorient, who is averaging 16.3 points and 9.7 rebounds. Lorient erupted for a career-high 26 points in Sunday’s win over Lehigh. Guard Honor Huff (15.7 ppg) has found his rhythm from beyond the arc after a slow start; last season, he led the nation with 131 made three-pointers.
Jasper Floyd (11.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) matched his career-high with 25 points in the opener against Mount St. Mary’s. Treysen Eaglestaff (6.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and center Harlan Obioha (9.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) round out the starting five.
Rebounding could be a concern for WVU, which has been outrebounded in two of its first three wins. Pitt, meanwhile, boasts two players averaging more than nine boards per game.
West Virginia has won six of the last eight matchups and holds a 101–90 lead in the all-time series — its most-played rivalry.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET on FS1.
Photo credit: Kelsie LeRose, WVSN
