Boston College @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 12, 2019 ) Pittsburgh 80, Boston College 70

Pittsburgh took a step towards rebuilding its program when the Panthers placed behind them a tough loss and put together a strong effort to sweep the season series against North Carolina. Now on Wednesday the Panthers will host Boston College, which was off to its best conference start since 2010-11 at 3-1 but has dropped three straight games while battling a myriad of injuries.

Pitt came up just short of an upset of Louisville in overtime on Jan. 14 when a game-tying tip by Terrell Brown was nullified by a dubious foul call, but the Panthers jumped out to an early 29-11 lead against the Tar Heels and cruised to a 66-52 victory on Saturday. “It’s a step. You know I don’t know what it speaks to, but it’s a step in the right direction for us. You know we have to continue to try to put days together, where we’re getting better, and we’re understanding what it takes to become a really good program and a really good team," Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. Against Wake Forest on Sunday, an 80-62 loss, BC played without four players who combined for a total of 29 points and 16 rebounds in a season-opening win over the Demon Deacons. Nik Popovic (11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds), Steffon Mitchell (6.9 points, 8.5 rebounds), Jared Hamilton (8.8 points) and Julian Rishwain (5.0) did not dress for the game.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET TV: ACC Network

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (9-9, 3-4 ACC): Senior guard Derryck Thornton (12.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists) scored a team-high 15 points vs Wake - his first double-digit scoring effort since Dec. 21 against California and his highest output since tallying 19 in a win at Notre Dame on Dec. 7. Guard Jay Heath (11.8 points) had 14 points, five boards, three assists and three steals and fellow freshman CJ Felder (6.6 points, 4.2 rebounds) added 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The Eagles rank last in ACC games only in offensive efficiency (87.1 points/100 possessions) and free-throw shooting (58.2 percent) and 14th of 15 in 3-point shooting (25.5).

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (12-6, 3-4): Xavier Johnson (12.2 points, 4.9 assists) scored 20 points against the Tar Heels, passing Julius Page for ninth place at Pitt in scoring through the sophomore season (731 points), and added six rebounds, six assists and two steals. "North Carolina is one of the great programs in the history of college basketball, and anytime you get a chance to sweep them is a pretty special thing," Capel said. Ryan Murphy scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half and made his first four shots, including three 3-pointers, and finished with his sixth game with at least three made 3-pointers - all six coming at the Petersen Events Center.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The schools split two games last season, with the Panthers beating the Eagles 80-70 on March 12 in the ACC tournament behind 26 points from Trey McGowens and 23 form Johnson. Popovic had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles.

2. The sweep of the Tar Heels was the first by the Panthers of a conference opponent since the 2015-16 season (Syracuse) and sixth since joining the ACC in 2013-14.

3. BC held the Tar Heels to 31.7 percent shooting (19-of-60) - lowest by a Pitt opponent this season - marking the 11th time this season Pitt has held the
opposition below 40 percent shooting from the field.

PREDICTION: Pittsburgh 66, Boston College 61