The Pitt basketball team gets its season underway on Friday with the opener against Navy. Typically, this would be a game that the Panthers would be favored to win. That doesn’t appear to be the case here, though.
While not the most scientific of sources, ESPN.com’s game predictor has Navy as a pretty big favorite in this won, giving them a 72% chance to win.
The game is part of the Veterans Classic and, appropriately, is being played at Annapolis.
Last year, Navy had one of the worst offenses in the country, scoring fewer than 65 points per game, and was only 16-16 on the season. But the Midshipmen will get this game at home and are facing an incredibly green Pitt team.
The Panthers are still largely an unknown, of course. This past Saturday provided a glimpse of the team in a 71-59 exhibition win over Slippery Rock but Friday’s game will mark the first regular season D-I game for many of Pitt’s players. There were nerves in the Slippery Rock game as acknowledged afterward and I expect that will be the case here, too - particular in a road game environment.
Game time is at 9:00 p.m. on Friday and you can watch it on CBS Sports Network.
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