Au’Diese Toney out against Wake Forest due to injury

Pitt took the court for its first ACC matchup of the new year on Saturday, but Panthers wing Au’Diese Toney was conspicuously absent after playing a key role in the team's last two games, scoring 13 points against Canisius and 10 points against Binghamton.

Toney’s absence was due to an elbow injury that he suffered in practice earlier this week, and the team announced that he would not take part in the ACC matchup with Wake Forest about an hour before tipoff on Saturday.

The 6’6”, 210-pound wing made eight starts in Pitt’s first 13 games of the season, and he averaged 6.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in a span of 24.8 minutes per game. While Toney got off to a slow start, he had scored 10 or more points and brought in six or more rebounds in three of his last five games.

Ryan Murphy started in place of Toney on Saturday, and Gerald Drumgoole also saw the court with Toney out. Murphy put on one of his best performances of the season in the first half, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including six on 2-of-3 shooting from distance. He also had two steals and two assists.

Toney’s long-term status is unclear, and a timetable for his return was not provided.