Virginia, Pitt aim to bounce back after tight losses

Field Level Media|published: Sun 2nd February, 12:37 2025

NCAA Basketball: Pittsburgh at Wake Forest

Feb 1, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Damian Dunn (1) drives to the basket defended by Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Cameron Hildreth (6) during the second half at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Two teams coming off tough losses face a tight turnaround as Pittsburgh hosts Virginia on Monday in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.

The Panthers (14-7, 5-5 ACC) fell 76-74 at Wake Forest on Saturday to snap their two-game winning streak, while the Cavaliers (10-12, 3-8) lost 75-74 at home the same day to Virginia Tech and missed a chance to get back to .500.

Pitt led Wake Forest by five early in the second half of a contest that came down to free throws. The Panthers were a perfect 20-of-20 from the line and the Demon Deacons were 20-of-22, including a clutch 6-for-6 effort in the final 22 seconds to secure the win.

Damian Dunn led Pitt with a season-high 24 points. Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett combined for 30 points but were a collective 8-for-26 from the field.

"We had missed shots right at the rim we didn't make," Panthers coach Jeff Capel told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Whether it was layups, pull-ups -- things like that, we have to make those. If we take a shot, we can't give up a layup in transition ... we had some opportunities, we just didn't capitalize."

Virginia also had an opportunity to win Saturday after trailing by as many as 13 points to the rival Hokies.

Isaac McKneely paced the Cavaliers with 19 points. Andrew Rohde added 12 off the bench but his contested runner rolled off the rim at the buzzer.

"We fought back all the way, had a chance to win it," McKneely said. "So you just gotta live with the result at that point. But I was proud of the way we fought back."

McKneely leads the Cavaliers with 13.3 points per game and is shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point distance. Lowe (17.4) and Leggett (16.5) provide a 1-2 scoring punch for the Panthers.

Virginia holds a 19-6 lead in the all-time series. Pittsburgh has won the last two meetings, including a 74-63 victory last season in Charlottesville, Va.

The Panthers are 10-2 at home this season. The Cavaliers collected their only road win of the season on Jan. 29 at last-place Miami.

--Field Level Media

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