Pitt set to welcome Pitt-Johnstown to the Pete for exhibition game

Jerry DiPaola
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023 9:47 p.m. | Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023 9:47 p.m.

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AP

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel shouts during the first half of a First Four college basketball game against Mississippi State in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Dayton, Ohio.

With coach Jeff Capel entering his sixth season at Pitt, the Panthers will welcome Pitt-Johnstown to the Petersen Events Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday for an exhibition game that signals the unofficial opening of the basketball season.

It’s basically a tuneup for the first game that counts Monday against North Carolina A&T, also at the Pete.

Pitt is 63-5 all-time in exhibition games, with a 33-0 record at the Pete and a winning streak of 39 games dating to the start of the 1999-2000 season.

Pitt-Johnstown has been Pitt’s exhibition opponent in three previous seasons. Pitt won 97-56 in 2007, 95-65 in 2016, and 78-59 in 2018.

Pitt is looking to build on the momentum from its 24-12 overall record (14-6 in the ACC) last season that included two victories in the NCAA Tournament. A media panel of reporters who cover the ACC picked Pitt to finish ninth in the conference this season.