Rider vs. Pittsburgh Preview
PITTSBURGH, PA (AP) – Since its opening in 2002, nearly every non-conference opponent that arrived at the Petersen Events Center left with a loss.
Pittsburgh hopes to add Rider to that lengthy list.
The third-ranked Panthers look to win their 53rd straight over a non-conference foe at their on-campus arena in the first meeting between these programs Saturday.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook SBGGlobal.com have made Pittsburgh –19 point spread favorites for Saturday’s game against Rider. Current College Basketball Public Betting Information shows that 63% of more than 125 bets for this game have been placed on Pittsburgh –19.
Trends say Pittsburgh is 15-5 in home games against a team with a winning record over the past three seasons.
Pittsburgh (8-0) has outscored its five opponents at the Petersen Events Center by an average of 28.4 points, improving to 137-11 at the eight-year old arena.
Of those defeats, only one came against a team outside the Big East, 69-66 to Bucknell on Jan. 2, 2005. The Panthers have won the other 80 games against non-conference opponents.
Pitt left campus Wednesday but didn’t have to travel far, facing Duquesne in the first basketball game at the Consol Energy Center in downtown Pittsburgh.
The Panthers had little trouble with their city rival, winning 80-66 to post their 29th victory in the last 32 meetings.
Pitt owned a significant size advantage over the Dukes – who played much of the game with only one starter taller than 6-foot-5 – and finished with a 56-35 rebounding advantage. Gary McGhee had 10 points and 10 rebounds with 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half for the Panthers, who held a 2-to-1 rebounding edge for most of the first 20 minutes.
The 6-11 McGhee finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and tied a school record with seven blocked shots in 25 minutes, while Ashton Gibbs led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
That kind of dominance on the glass is nothing new for Pitt, undefeated through eight games for the eighth time in nine seasons. The Panthers own the nation’s best rebounding advantage at 16.8 per game, but coach Jamie Dixon still believes they can improve.
“I don’t think that we’ve completely gotten to where we want to be rebounding wise,” he said. “What I think is that we’re going to have a lot of different guys rebounding. It’s not going to be a one-man show. We have guards that rebound and a number of big guys that can rebound. The combination of those things can allow us to be a good rebounding team.”
Pitt, third in the nation in rebounding with an average of 46.9, has another opportunity to control the glass against Rider, which grabs 33.5 rebounds per game.
The Broncs (5-3), however, aren’t missing many shots, especially from 3-point range.
Rider shot a season-best 61.1 percent and made 10 of 19 from beyond the arc in Thursday’s 88-59 win over Manhattan. Brandon Penn had a career-best 26 points for the Broncs, who are the nation’s sixth-best 3-point shooting team at 44.6 percent.
“If we play hard we’ll be in every game,” senior Mike Ringgold told the school’s official website. “It might not be a blowout, but we’ll be in it.”
Rider hopes to prove that in its first game of the season against a Top 25 team. It won 88-74 at No. 18 Mississippi State on Nov. 13, 2009, and lost at fourth-ranked Kentucky by 29 points eight days later.
Want More From TheSpread.com? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook or Subscribe to Our News Feeds!