The Pitt Panthers and the West Virginia Mountaineers meet in college basketball action from the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday night. The Backyard Brawl makes its way onto the hardwood, who comes out on top? Let’s take a look and give out a Pitt vs. West Virginia Prediction.

Pitt Panthers Team Preview

The Pitt Panthers come into this one looking to rebound from back-to-back losses following a 79-70 loss at the hands of Clemson last time out. Blake Hinson leads the Panthers in scoring with 20.5 PPG along with 4.9 RPG while Ishmael Leggett has 15.1 PPG with a team-high 7.1 RPG to lead Pitt on the glass this season in addition to 2.9 APG. Carlton Carrington has 14.6 PPG with 5.4 RPG and also a team-high 5.9 APG to lead the Panthers in the assist department up to this point in the year, rounding out the group of double-digit scorers for Pitt so far this season. Zack Austin also has 7.9 PPG with 6.3 RPG up to this point in the year. As a team, Pitt is averaging 82.9 PPG on 44.2% shooting from the field, 33.6% from three and 67.5% from the foul line this season.

West Virginia Mountaineers Team Preview

The West Virginia Mountaineers come into this one looking to rebound from a 79-73 loss to St. John’s last time out. Quinn Slazinski leads the Mountaineers in scoring with 16.7 PPG along with 2.4 APG in addition to 4.9 RPG while Jesse Edwards has 15.7 PPG with a team-high 10 RPG to lead the Mountaineers on the boards, averaging a double-double per game. Kobe Johnson has 11.3 PPG with a team-high 2.9 APG of his own to finish off the trio of double-digit scorers for WVU so far this season as the Mountaineers’ top assist man. As a team, West Virginia is averaging 64.1 PPG on 38.3% shooting from the field, 30.4% from three and 71.1% from the foul line this season.

Pitt vs. West Virginia Prediction

I’m sticking with Pitt here. I know this game in Morgantown can be tough because of the road court environment, but the Mountaineers have stunk it up from the floor offensively for much of the year and I don’t know why that would be any different here. Sure, WVU has the better defense, but Pitt is a solid team in their own right and even on the road, I think they have no issues here.