Pitt basketball | Panthers to face Mississippi State on the road in SEC/ACC Challenge

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt men’s basketball team will play Mississippi State on the road Dec. 4 in the 2024 SEC/ACC Challenge.

The Panthers are 1-1 against Mississippi State and will be making their first trip to Starkville.

The inaugural SEC/ACC Challenge in 2023 finished with in a 7-7 deadlock. There will be 16 games in the challenge this season with both conferences expanding prior to the 2024-25 campaign.

The Panthers won the previous meeting between the two schools with a 60-59 victory at Dayton Arena in the First Four portion of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Jamarius Burton made a go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds remaining in a game that featured 21 lead changes. Nelly Cummings led Pitt with 15 points, while Greg Elliott (13) and Blake Hinson (12) also scored in double figures.

Pitt also returns four of its top six scorers from a year ago with the backcourt of Ishmael Leggett and Jaland Lowe leading the way. Leggett averaged 12.3 points, while leading the team in rebounding (5.5) and steals (41) en route to earning ACC sixth man of the year honors. Lowe came on strong over the final three months of the season averaging 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in ACC play.

Zack Austin (6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 44 blocks), Guillermo Diaz Graham (6.7 points, 3.9 rebounds), and Jorge Diaz Graham (3.5 points, 2.5 rebounds) also return with starting experience for the Panthers.

The incoming class of Panthers is well-balanced with productive veterans Damian Dunn (Houston) and Cameron Corhen (Florida State) complimented by a trio of high-ceiling freshman – Brandin Cummings, Amsal Delalić and Amdy Ndiaye. Dunn, a two-time all-AAC selection, has totaled 1,288 points in 109 career games, while Corhen is a two-year starter at Florida State who averaged 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in just 21.5 minutes per game in 2023-24 with the Seminoles.