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.
