Pittsburgh (6-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. No.19 Wisconsin (6-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Sunday, November 22, 4:30 p.m. CT

Arena – Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier - White Sulphur Springs, W.V. (1,100)

Watch – CBS Sports Network (Jack Benjamin and Matt McCall)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Chris Vosters and Brian Butch), Sirius 979, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Wisconsin leads 12-7 (Series tied 2-2 on neutral sites)

Last Meeting - Wisconsin won, 47-43, on March 18, 2016, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in St. Louis

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Pittsburgh -2.5

Player to Watch: Winter posted his first-career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds (5 offensive) in Wisconsin's 86-70 win over UCF. Winter grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and has now had 8+ rebounds in three of six games this season after entering the year with a career-high of seven boards.

Player to watch: Besides leading the team in scoring and rebounding, Leggett ranks second in the ACC in field goal percentage (.603). He has scored 15 or more points in five of Pitt's six games, including a pair of 20-point efforts.

Wisconsin holds a 12-7 lead over Pittsburgh in a series that began in 1928 in a neutral-site game in Milwaukee. The series is tied 2-2 in neutral site games, including 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Badgers are 62-61 against schools currently in the ACC.

The Panthers are 162-191 against teams currently in the Big Ten.

The Badgers have started the season 6-0 for the first time since opening the 2014-15 season with seven straight wins. That 2014-15 team reached the 2015 National Championship Game.

Wisconsin is going for its third November tournament in the past four seasons. UW has now won eight of its last nine nonconference November tournament games, going 3-0 in the 2021 Maui Invitational, 2-1 in the 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis, and 2-0 in the 2023 Fort Myers Tip-Off.

The Badgers have scored at least 79 points in each of the first six games of the season for the first time in school history. UW is averaging 87.8 ppg on the season. The school single season scoring record is 86.3 ppg set in 1970-71.

Wisconsin hit 10 threes in its Friday win over UCF (10-for-31). UW has tallied 10+ 3FGs in four of six games this year. Wisconsin did so in seven of 36 games last season.

Leading the country by shooting 87.2 percent from the free-throw line, UW has out-scored its first five opponents 129-to-83 at the free-throw line. The Badgers have made (129) more FTs than their opponents have attempted (118).

Starting the season 6-0 for the first time since 2018-19, the Panthers have won each game by double figures and have a scoring margin of 25.6 points.

The Panthers have won the rebounding battle in five of their first six games. Pitt is averaging 41.2 rebounds per game and has four players averaging at least 6.0 rebounds per game.

Pitt is averaging 36.7 points in the paint to go along with 16.5 points per game from the foul line through six games. The Panthers have topped a combined 50 points in the paint and at the foul line in five contests with the lone outlier at 49-point effort against LSU.

Pitt opened Friday’s second half with a 13-0 run holding LSU to 0-of-13 shooting from the field over the first 6:43 of the half. The 13-0 run was the largest of the season.

The Panthers shot 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the field and went 16-of-18 from the free throw line in the second half after shooting 31.3 percent (10-of-32) and 25.0 percent (4-of-16) from three in the first 20 minutes.

Besides seeing the last three minutes of Pittsburgh’s first half against LSU, head coach Greg Gard didn’t know much about the Panthers late Friday night. He didn’t need to watch much, though, considering Jeff Capel’s reputation.

“They’re physical, they’ll come after us,” Gard said. “Really good defensive team. They play like (their coach) played. They’re going to be hard-nosed.”

This appears to be Wisconsin’s biggest physical test of the young season. Starting in Pitt’s front court, the Panthers have five rostered players 6-10 or taller for the first time in program history, and their two starters – Corhen and Diaz Graham – combine to average 21.5 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. Corhen went 7-for-11 from the field in the win over LSU, all coming on dunks.

Pitt has built around its stout forwards with exceptional guards. The backcourt of Lowe and Leggett combined for 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and eight steals while playing 79:55 of a possible 80 minutes. Lowe scored 19 of his career-high 22 points in the second half on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range.

Wisconsin’s offense has hummed throughout the season because of the Badgers’ willingness to attack, especially against bigger frontcourts. A year after UW seemed to settle for mid-range jumpers instead of facing contact, the Badgers have guards in Blackwell and Tonje who are confident at the rim or the line. The duo is 72-for-81 from the line, accounting for 55.8 percent of UW’s makes and 54.7 percent of the attempts.

The big thing that stood out from Wisconsin's Friday win was its defense in holding UCF to 11.8 percent from three and 33.9 percent overall. Pittsburgh took control of its semifinal game by scoring 11 points on its first five possessions, eight points coming at the rim, and four off a fast break. UW will need to tighten its defense, especially considering UW committed 26 fouls against UCF and the Panthers went 19-for-22 from the line against LSU.

Ball security will also be paramount. UW got a little sloppy with the ball in the second half against UCF and Leggett had five steals and Lowe had three of Pitt’s 10 swipes. The Panthers are a team that can move in transition.

The Badgers have continuously improved this season from game to game, but I worry about this matchup against a team that ranks 21st nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and 12th in adjusted defensive efficiency. In a close game, UW’s undefeated season ends.

Worgull’s Prediction: Pittsburgh by 7

Record: 5-1 (5-1 ATS)

Points off Prediction: 56 (9.3 per game)

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