Back on winning track, Pitt returns home to meet Missouri

Pitt coach Jeff Capel was pleased with his team's response to its first loss.

After an 86-71 defeat to Florida on Wednesday night in the NIT Season Tip-Off, the Panthers (5-1) got back on track with a commanding 76-51 win over Oregon State.

Pitt returns home -- where it started 4-0 -- for more early-schedule nonconference play when it takes on Missouri (5-2) on Tuesday night.

"I thought we showed great resilience to be able to come back, to get up off the mat," Capel told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Obviously, we weren't pleased with the result of Wednesday night, but I think it shows a lot of character, a lot of grit, a lot of toughness for us to get off the mat."

Tuesday's clash, which is part of the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge, will mark the schools' first-ever men's hoops encounter.

The Panthers have put up 88.2 points per game, second in the Atlantic Coast Conference only to Miami (89.0).

After a 78-70 win over Loyola (Md.) on Saturday, Missouri's Noah Carter is aware of what his team needs to do to make it hard on opponents.

"Having to play solid defense is important," Carter said. "I thought our energy dipped a little bit when they started to go on the run. ... I feel like we gave them too many offensive rebounds, which helped spark their run. So, playing that solid defense is probably the biggest thing to stop that."

Pitt has a balanced offense, as three players have averaged at least 15 points through six contests. Blake Hinson leads the team with 19.2 points per game, while Ishmael Leggett is at 15.7 and Carlton Carrington averages 15.2.

Missouri's defense is one of six in the nation to rank in the top 50 in blocks and steals.

On offense, Sean East II paces the Tigers with 15.4 points per game and has been tops in scoring for his team in four of its seven matchups.