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  • Villanova hungry for a rebound, but Pitt might be even hungrier

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    (Photo credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images)

    Villanova is coming off a humbling loss, but the Wildcats won’t be getting any sympathy cards from the Pitt players.

    The Panthers have larger problems, as they look to avoid their fifth loss in six games Saturday when they visit Villanova for a nonconference matchup.

    Pitt (5-5) has endured a rough stretch that has included home losses to UCF (77-67), Quinnipiac (83-75), Texas A&M (81-73) and Hofstra (80-73). The team’s lone win in that span came on Damarco Minor’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Ohio State.

    More recently, in the loss to the Pride, Pitt received only 34 points from its starting lineup and allowed Hofstra to shoot 53% from the field.

    ‘I’m really disappointed in us, and this is not taking anything away from them, but we didn’t play with the necessary force that’s required to be good on either side of the ball,’ said Pitt coach Jeff Capel.

    The clear bright spot for the Panthers was Brandin Cummings, who scored a career-high 34 points off the bench. He went scoreless in 19 minutes in the team’s previous game before shooting 10 of 15 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range against the Pride.

    ‘I thought he really practiced well the past couple of days,’ Capel said. ‘He seemed to have a little bit more pop, and he had an outstanding game.’

    Meanwhile, Villanova (7-2) is trying to pick up the pieces after an 89-61 setback at No. 2 Michigan on Tuesday. The Wildcats struggled with their shooting from the field (34%), the 3-point line (27%) and the foul line (64%) in the lopsided defeat.

    ‘You try to get some 3-point looks, but it’s hard because they are so well connected defensively,’ said Villanova coach Kevin Willard, whose team shot 15 of 31 from 3-point range in its previous game, a 27-point victory against Penn.

    Bryce Lindsay, who scored 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting – hitting 5 of 6 3-point attempts – against the Quakers, is hoping to bounce back from a three-point effort on 1-of-5 shooting against the Wolverines. The sophomore leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game.

    Pitt has won the last six meetings between the former Big East rivals, although they have not met since 2013.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Pitt, UCF put contrasting styles to test in Legends Classic

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    (Photo credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images)

    Pitt and UCF — a pair of promising four-win teams — square off in the annual Legends Classic on Thursday in Daytona Beach, Fla.

    The event enters its 19th season with the Panthers (4-1) and Knights (4-1) in the showcase game. Pitt claimed Legends Classic titles in 2013 and 2008.

    The last time the teams met was in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, when Pitt prevailed 53-44.

    It figures to be a competitive matchup, as Pitt and UCF feature a clash of styles: Pitt’s stingy defense limited Bucknell to 13 total field goals on Monday, while UCF averaged 89 points across its opening five contests thanks to 47.7% shooting (51 of 107) from 3-point range.

    UCF defeated visiting Oakland 87-83 on Monday as transfer guard Riley Kugel had 18 points to surpass 1,000 for his career. The former Florida Gator and Mississippi State Bulldog has helped fuel UCF’s long-range shooting with 16 made 3-pointers in 28 attempts.

    ‘We’re not worried about any game in the past,’ Knights coach Johnny Dawkins said following the latest victory. ‘These games are over and we’ll take the lessons we’ve learned from the games that we’ve competed (in) and try to get better the next time we go out on the court. We know we’re going to face another tough test.

    ‘Our mindset needs to be one in which we’re focused solely on Pitt and not anything else that’s around us. Just focus on what’s in front of us and prepare for them.’

    One Pitt player the Knights will have to prepare for is Cameron Corhen. The 6-foot-10 senior is not only shooting 62.5% from the floor and scoring 14 points per game, but he also is averaging 9.8 rebounds, punctuated by a career-high 13 against Longwood on Nov. 7.

    The Panthers blitzed Bucknell 84-50 as South Alabama transfer Barry Dunning Jr. scored 23 points in 278 minutes off the bench. He shot 7 of 11 from 3-point range.

    UCF coach Jeff Capel was pleased to see his team’s response after a lopsided setback at rival West Virginia four days earlier.

    ‘I think it’s just important to have this performance coming off of a loss,’ Capel said postgame Monday. ‘As a coach, you don’t know how you’re going to respond when you come off of a loss, especially when you come off of a (71-49) loss like that. It’s a rivalry, we did not play well (and) we didn’t play anywhere like we’re capable of playing.’

    –Field Level Media

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