Pitt moves on without injured guard Damian Dunn, prepares for test at Ohio State

There are certainly more inopportune times than now for Pitt to lose one of its starters.

Perhaps the night before the start of the ACC Tournament would be worse.

But Damian Dunn was injured Sunday in a loss to Wisconsin in the Greenbrier Tipoff, hurting the thumb on his right hand and spraining his left ankle. The thumb was repaired surgically, and Dunn, who is averaging 11.1 points, is expected to miss the next six weeks.

“I don’t know how the body works,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “I think the ankle will be better before the hand.”

And the schedule marches on, with Pitt (6-1) preparing to meet Ohio State (5-1) on Friday in Columbus. It is the third of five games in a row against power conference schools.

Coaches value experience above almost all else, and Dunn, a 6-foot-5 guard, was signed via the transfer portal because he’s been up and down many basketball courts several times. While playing for Temple, Houston and Pitt, he has scored 1,366 career points in five-plus seasons (116 games, 69 starts). Pitt can’t replace that amount of floor time.

“We have to do it collectively,” Capel said. “I don’t know if we have one person who can step up and do the things defensively that Damian was able to provide for us. He’s a sixth-year guy. He’s older, and he’s been in a lot of experiences guarding perimeter guys.”

Pitt has two other perimeter players on its bench, but Amsal Delalic and Brandin Cummings are freshmen.

“They’ve done a solid job, but they’re freshmen,” Capel said. “All of it’s new. It’s a big learning curve game to game, game plan to game plan — who you’re playing against, what their strengths are.

“(Delalic and Cummings) work at it. They have pride in it. But it’s going to be very different from them to a sixth-year guy, an older guy who’s been in college and understands all the stuff it takes to be a really good player and a really good player on a consistent basis.”

Delalic (12 minutes, 4.5 points per game) was ticketed for more playing time even before Dunn’s injury, and Cummings was averaging 16 minutes and five points.

“They are going to have to grow up quickly. I have a lot of confidence in them,” Capel said. “We understand there are going to be some mistakes and some things we have to live through. Those guys will be excited and be ready for an opportunity that will be presented to them.”

Forward Cam Corhen said the freshmen’s increased playing time will pay off after Dunn returns, perhaps sometime in early January.

“We’ll just be even stronger with those dudes,” Corhen said. “It will help them grow tremendously. You can practice all you want and play pick-up all you want, but live action in a game is different.”

Capel said he has not decided on a replacement for Dunn in the starting lineup. Redshirt senior Zack Austin, who leads the ACC and tied for 15th in the nation with 15 blocks, could get the call.

Austin is in his second season with the team after transferring last year from High Point. He could fill the valuable sixth man role held the past two seasons by Nike Sibande and Ishmael Leggett. They were the ACC’s Sixth Man of the Year award winners after the past two seasons.

The Ohio State game will be Pitt’s seventh but its first on an opponent’s home floor.

“They’re a really good team playing with a lot of confidence,” Capel said of the Buckeyes. “They have a great home court.”

Ohio State is averaging 85.2 points and is second among Big Ten teams and tied for 16th in the nation in average made 3-point shots per game (11). Junior Bruce Thornton has hit 12 of 23 and freshman John Mobley 19 of 32.

The Buckeyes have played two teams that were ranked at the time in the Associated Press Top 25, defeating No. 19 Texas, 80-72, in Las Vegas and losing at No. 23 Texas A&M, 78-64. In their past two home games at the Value City Arena in Columbus, the Buckeyes beat Campbell, 104-60, and Green Bay, 102-69.