These early-season basketball games sort of sneak up on you, especially with planning for Thanksgiving. I'd forgotten for the most part that Pitt had a game today.

Cornell has had some formidable teams in the past but this doesn't look like one of them. The Big Red have already dropped two games, losing by an ugly 35 points to Georgia Tech and falling by 25 to Canisius. The team's three wins? A three-point victory against Colgate and wins over always-awful Binghamton as well as Penn State-Harrisburg. Woof.

FWIW, Cornell does have a nice backcourt combo in Marcus Hatter and Matt Morgan, who combine for more than 35 points per game. Don't look for that duo to fall apart against a team like Pitt, either, since they had 39 against Georgia Tech. The Panthers' guards will have some work to do tonight to keep them in check.

Overall, though, Pitt is a better rebounding team with more size, turns the ball over less, and shoots better from the field. Add in getting the game at The Pete and it's hard to see the Panthers losing this game. While Pitt did struggle to pull away from Detroit in their last game, I still expect them to win here without too much trouble.

The game time is at 7:00 p.m. and you can see it on ESPN3. Join us to comment live during the game here.

Be sure to join Cardiac Hill's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt athletics. Follow the author and founder/editor @AnsonWhaley