Eight home games at the Petersen Events Center, its first-ever Maui Invitational appearance and a road game at Indiana highlight the University of Pittsburgh’s 14-game 2014-15 non-conference basketball schedule released on Tuesday. Pitt’s entire schedule, ACC regular season dates, television appearances and tipoff times will be announced at a later date.
Eleven of Pitt’s potential non-conference opponents were ranked among the nation’s top-150 in Ratings Percentage Index last season. Over the last 13 seasons, Pitt has ranked among the nation’s best programs in RPI and has played a variety of top teams in its non-conference schedules including Duke, Wisconsin (twice), Oklahoma State (twice), Florida State (three times), Washington (twice), Ohio State (twice), Texas (twice), Tennessee (twice), South Carolina (twice), Georgia (twice), Auburn (twice), Alabama, Memphis, Maryland and Michigan.
As part of the Maui Invitational, the Panthers will play three games from Nov. 24-26 at the Lahaina Center in Maui, Hawaii. Potential opponents include Arizona, San Diego State, Kansas State, Missouri, BYU, Purdue and host Chaminade. Matchups and ESPN tipoff times will be announced at a later date. For more information on tickets and travel packages, visit http://www.pittpantherssportstravel.com/.
Pitt will play four total games on its trip to Hawaii as it has also scheduled a road game against the University of Hawaii on Friday, Nov. 21 at Wailuku, Hawaii’s War Memorial Gym. Due to NCAA rules, programs that schedule a road contest against a team in Hawaii are granted an extra game. That is why the Panthers will play 14 contests instead of the typical 13-game non-conference schedule.
Pitt will also travel to Indiana on Tuesday, Dec. 2 as part of the 2014 ACC/Big Ten Basketball Challenge Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. The contest will be televised nationally on one of the ESPN family of networks: ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
The Panthers will open their season against Niagara on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Petersen Events Center. The contest is the first of eight non-conference home games including Samford (Maui Invitational game, Nov. 16), St. Bonaventure (Dec. 13), Manhattan (Dec. 17), Oakland (Dec. 20), Holy Cross (Dec. 23), Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 30) and Bryant (Feb. 2).
Pitt will play Duquesne in the 83rd annual City Game at the Consol Energy Center on Friday, Dec. 5. Ticket information for the City Game will be released at a later date.
Additionally, Pitt will host exhibition games against Indiana, Pa. (Oct. 31) and Philadelphia University (Nov. 7). The Panthers will also host two preseason scrimmages: Oakland Zoo Scrimmage (Oct. 9) and the Maggie Dixon Heart Health Fair/Fan Fest and Blue-Gold Scrimmage (Oct. 18).
Pitt’s 2014-15 ACC opponents were announced on April 22 as the Panthers will play four teams on a home/road basis: Boston College, Florida State, Louisville and Syracuse. Pitt will host nine games at the Petersen Events Center including Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Syracuse. The Panthers’ 2014-15 road opponents are Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina State, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.