Pitt vs. North Carolina State: Open Gamethread

With last weekend's ugly loss to Miami, Pitt has little time to regroup. The team learned it will be without Ryan Luther for at least a couple of weeks and star big man Michael Young is less than 100% and should be wearing a mask again to protect his face after fracturing an orbital bone.

Fun, fun, fun.

Pitt has to travel on the road to face North Carolina State tonight. Yes, the Wolfpack are technically one of the lesser teams in the ACC but at this point, so are the Panthers. And Miami wasn't great and they still had little trouble with the Panthers over the weekend.

For the record, North Carolina State is reeling, too. Like the Panthers, they are only 1-4 in conference and 12-6 overall. They've also dropped three in a row, including games against Georgia Tech and Boston College. Still, anyone feel comfortable about this game? Didn't think so.

It goes without saying but this is a crucial game for Pitt - particularly with so many big games still left on the schedule. It's not only critical for the teams NCAA Tournament hopes but it's important in terms of keeping the fan base engaged. A lot of people no doubt jumped off the bandwagon this past weekend and keeping fans interested will be even harder if Pitt loses another game and starts the ACC season 1-5.

Game time is at 7:00 p.m. and you can see it on ESPNU - join us here to comment during the festivities (or, you know, disaster).