Tale of the Tape: Pitt vs. Wake Forest

James Robinson 6'3" JR  9.3 P/G    5.2 A/G    3.2 R/G

vs.

Mitchell Wilbekin  6'1" FR 7.2 P/G    2.3 R/G  1.8 A/G

James Robinson had a quiet offensive game against Boston College last time out, as he only went for three points.  The junior guard dished out six assists tough, and pulled down two rebounds and had one steal.  Robinson has been logging a lot of minutes all year, but especially recently with Josh Newkirk in a slump. Expect for Robinson to continue to look for his shot less, but for his assist numbers to stay steady or even climb. Robinson has to exert a lot of energy with the type of minutes he is playing, so I do not expect him to have a ton of big scoring games unless Newkirk can prove he can give this team quality minutes again.

Pitt fans should be somewhat familiar with the name Wilbekin as Scottie Wilbekin and Florida knocked the Panthers out in the NCAA Tournament last season. Scottie's younger brother Mitchell is a promising player for Wake Forest, but is not quite the player his brother was just yet.  Mitchell Wilbekin is coming off a forgettable game as he did not register any stats at all in 25 minutes of action and was 0-5 from the field against the stifling Virginia defense. Wilbekin is a fairly good three-point threat, a good foul shooter, and a pretty solid defender. He is just a freshman, and inconsistency has been his biggest issue.

Cameron Wright 6'5" SR   9.0 P/G   2.9  A/G   2.9 R/G

vs.

Codi Miller-McIntyre 6'3"  JR  13.8 P/G   4.9 R/G  4.1  A/G

Cameron Wright is coming off a respectable 10 point game last time out against Boston College on Tuesday.   The senior guard for the Panthers has been one of their better players over the course of the past month, and they will need him to play solid defense on Miller-McIntyre, while also looking for his mid-range jump shot.  Wright has been averaging 8 points and 4 assists since returning from an injury that caused him to sit out the Louisville game.  If Wright continues to pass the ball well and sets up his teammates more often, Pitt will be a better team for it.

Codi Miller-McIntyre is the big threat for Wake Forest. The junior guard leads the team in scoring, assists, and puts up good rebounding numbers for a guard.  Miller-McIntyre will have the ball in his hands a good bit. and is more less the team's best point guard and shooting guard wrapped into one player. All things considered, Miller-McIntyre is in a bit of a slump the past five games (9 points per game).  Pitt needs to keep him down if they want to go into Winston-Salem and come out with a win.

Sheldon Jeter 6'8" SO   4.9 P/G    2.3  R/G

vs.

Cornelius Hudson 6'6" FR 7.6  P/G  3.2 R/G   1  A/G

Sheldon Jeter did not have his best game last time out, as he scored 9 points and did not bring down a rebound or any assists to go along with it. Jeter is still averaging 12 points a game in his past six since his breakout performance against Syracuse a few Saturday's ago. Pitt needs Jeter to give them some scoring in this one, as nobody knows what to expect from the point guard slot.

Cornelius Hudson started the last game against Virginia, but that does not necessarily mean he will get the nod tonight. Aaron Rountree or Greg McClinton could also get the start potentially as Danny Manning has tinkered with his lineup all year. As for Hudson, he is having a solid freshman season as he is fourth on the team in scoring. He struggled against Virginia on Wednesday, but many people struggle against that defense. Hudson has shown the ability to have some big scoring games, as he poured in 19 against Georgia Tech earlier in February.

Jamel Artis 6'7" SO   13.5  P/G    5.9 R/G   2.3  A/G

vs.

Devin Thomas 6'9" JR 12.5 P/G   9.3 R/G

Jamel Artis continued his scorching hot pace with a 24 point 8 rebound showing against Boston College. Since being held to 8 points against Clemson on January 10, Artis has had 13 straight games scoring in double figures, including going over 20 points in seven of those games.  The sophomore forward has really emerged as Pitt's go-to scorer, and for Pitt to win a tough road game tonight they will need him to be the player he has been the past month and a half.

Devin Thomas could very well be considered Wake's best player. Thomas nearly averages a double-double, and has posted 12 such games this season. The junior from Harrisburg had a rough foul-plagued game against Virginia, but the game before he scored 26 points in 27 minutes while grabbing 11 boards against Notre Dame.  Thomas is capable of some big games, but if you recall to last year's ACC Tournament, Pitt held him in check and frustrated him and that ended Wake Forest's season.

Mike Young 6'9" SO   13.1 P/G   7.3 R/G  1.1 A/G

vs.

Konstantinos Mitoglou 6'10"  FR   9.8  P/G   4.7  R/G

Mike Young had one of his better games of the season against Boston College going for 22 points and 9 rebounds, while going  a very impressive 12-15 from the foul line. Young was matched up against some bigger Boston College defenders, but used his athleticism and quickness to draw fouls and hit some quicker shots in the paint.  Young will be facing the same kind of matchups with Wake, and will need to attack things in a similar way.

Konstantinos Mitoglou is a big 6'11" freshman from Greece, and has done some good things in his first collegiate season. Mitoglou led the Demon Deacons in scoring and rebounding against Virginia with 10 points and 6 boards.  He was the lone bright spot for Danny Manning, but Mitoglou has been very good for a few weeks now and is averaging 13 points and 5 boards in his past seven games. He will present a big challenge to the smaller Panthers.

Chris Jones 6'6" SO   9.0  P/G 
Josh Newkirk 6'1" SO   6.2  P/G
Derrick Randall 6'9" SR 1.5 P/G
Joe Uchebo 6'10" JR 1.6 P/G
Aron Phillips-Nwankwo 6'7" SR  1.5 P/G

vs.

Darius Leonard 6'9"  SR  5.9 P/G
Madison Jones 6'1" JR  4.9 P/G
Greg McClinton 6'7" FR  3.6  P/G
Miles Overton 6'4" SO  5.1 P/G
Aaron Rountree 6'8" JR  2.7  P/G

Pitt will look to Chris Jones to provide them with any kind of production off the bench.  The sophomore wing has been able to come in and give the team an outside shooting presence.  As we all know, Jones started most of the season and still plays a lot of minutes like a starter.  Josh Newkirk pulled down two rebounds and had one assist in 11 minutes of action in his last game, and did not score a point.  Believe it or not, that was a better game than he had against Syracuse.  The sophomore guard is struggling to find his way, but anyone that has watched him knows he is capable (and due) for a big game.  Derrick Randall and likely Aron Phillips-Nwankwo will provide minutes to give Jamie Dixon some depth down low.

Darius Leonard is a senior that has started a lot of games this year as the team's center.  He is still putting up some good numbers, and will see plenty of action.  From there, Madison Jones is essentially just an extra guard that can come in and eat up minutes.  McClinton and Rountree are athletic and long wings, but have not given Danny Manning a ton of scoring.