Pitt seeking fast start at fading Notre Dame

In search of a third consecutive victory, Pitt is set to face Notre Dame on the road Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

The Fighting Irish are trending in the opposite direction and hope the homecourt advantage helps to end a slump that has seen them lose two straight and five of their last six.

Pitt (16-10, 7-8 ACC) delivered an 80-69 comeback win over Syracuse on Tuesday. An emphasis moving forward will be to get off to stronger starts to games. The Panthers trailed 41-34 at halftime.

"I have to figure out how to get us off to better starts," Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. "We have not played well to start games, but it shows how connected and together we are that we continue to battle and continue to fight."

Panthers guard Ishmael Leggett has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games, including a 19-point effort against Syracuse. He has averaged 16.2 points per and 6.0 rebounds per game, while also leading the team with 1.8 steals.

"He's been efficient," Capel said. "He's rebounded. He's defended. He's led. He's played like an older guy like you would expect when you get to mid-February."

Notre Dame (11-15, 5-10) is 1-5 this month, including a 97-73 defeat at home against SMU on Wednesday.

Fighting Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry doesn't expect his team to fold despite being on the brink of its fourth losing streak of at least three games this season.

"As a group, as a team, we're gonna keep fighting," he said. "We're gonna keep trying to get back to the drawing board."

The Irish are hoping to finish a three-game homestand on a high note and Braeden Shrewsberry will be key to making that happen. He scored 21 points against SMU, the fourth time this year he's totaled 20 or more points.

Shrewsberry has averaged 14.0 points per outing for the Irish, who are 8-5 at home. Markus Burton has scored a team-best 20.3 points over 19 games, but was held to two against SMU on 1-of-6 shooting, while committing four turnovers.

--Field Level Media