West Virginia and Pitt are both coming into Wednesday night’s Backyard Brawl trying to bounce back after a loss.
Our team gives their Backyard Brawl predictions for tonight’s game.
Wesley Shoemaker: This is a game the Mountaineers seemingly have to have. Their NET Ranking is in a really bad spot right now, 209th in the country. Pitt’s NET is top-60, meaning the Mountaineers have a chance to get their best win of the season resume wise. I also think at some point, Jesse Edwards is going to take over and after he ran into foul trouble on Friday against St. John’s, it feels like his kind of night in a sense that he’s going to rebound from the outing.
Pitt is also coming into the game off a loss, dropping two straight games to power five competition. Pitt’s Blake Hinson scored only five points in last year’s game, but this season he is averaging 20.5 points per game. Hinson had his highest scoring total of the season in Pitt’s most recent loss to Clemson (27). This rivalry will be no secret to West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert and the entirety of the WVU coaching staff. In the end, I think WVU holds serve at home.
West Virginia 71, Pitt 65
Patrick Reneau: WVU has had Pitts number since the rivalry was renewed back in 2017, winning every meeting since. To me i believe the streak will continue tonight. Although WVU has struggled to close out games this season I believe the energy of the crowd tonight will be enough for them to get behind and close out the game. It will be a close game though as Blake Hinson will do everything he can to keep Pitt within striking distance making for an exciting game. West Virginia will have a small lead going into the final stretch before Quinn Slazinski hits a 3 to ice the game. Jesse Edwards will finish with a 25/10 double-double.
West Virginia 73, Pitt 65
Ryan Roddy: After suffering a frustrating and close loss to a Rick Pitino-coached St.John’s team, the Mountaineers will be playing with a definite fire against their proximate rivals in front of a sold-out crowd in the Coliseum. Pitt, a team that started hot out of the gate with four straight wins, has dropped three of their last four against all power five teams. Forward Blake Hinson is the Panther’s leading scorer averaging 20.5 points per game, West Virginia will have to play him close on the perimeter to hinder his precise three-point shooting ability. He made nearly 100 three-pointers last year, shooting 42.3% from the arc this season. The Mountaineers are on five days’ rest which should have greatly benefited the depth-lacking roster. I expect a complete Jesse Edwards takeover, while Quinn Slazinski adds insurance. If Pat Suemnick can contain Hinson when called upon, I think WVU will come on top in an inevitably close thriller due to an electric crowd.Â
West Virginia 71, Pitt 68
