Pitt's ACC debut last year at North Carolina State couldn't have gotten off to a worse start.
The Panthers quickly fell into a 17-2 hole and looked as if they were going to get blown out of the gym.
But after gaining their footing, the Panthers slowly worked their way into the game by halftime, seized control early in the second half and won, 74-62.
The Panthers (10-3) are hoping for a better start but a similar result today when they open their second ACC season at PNC Arena against the Wolfpack (10-4).
N.C. State returns guards Ralston Turner and Anthony Barber, but one player the Panthers won't have to contend with is T.J. Warren, who left for the NBA after last season. Phoenix selected him with the 14th pick of the draft.
Warren averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 rebounds and was capable of taking over a game. Pitt found that out the hard way when Warren scored 41 points in the rematch in March at Petersen Events Center. N.C. State won, 74-67.
The addition of Alabama-transfer Trevor Lacey (17.1 ppg) and increased scoring from Barber (12.4 ppg) and Turner (12.9) has helped offset the loss of Warren. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said the Wolfpack will be tough to defend because there are three scoring options instead of just one.
"Their guard play is experienced," Dixon said. "Barber played a lot of minutes for them last year, and Lacy obviously adds a lot to their offense as well. And their wing, Ralston Turner, can score for them, too, so a lot of their scoring comes from their guards."
The Panthers were 11-7 in the ACC last year, and Dixon said their inaugural season was a good learning experience. But he discounted the notion that the ACC is that much different than the Big East in terms of style of play. Only a few teams in the league, N.C. State being one of them, play a more up-tempo game.
"Every team changes over time," Dixon said. "And even in leagues that you are familiar with there are adjustments and different personnel, and that is especially true in today's game where you have guys transferring in and out a lot more.
"The main thing about the style of play is that with 15 teams in a league, there is not real style of play because so many teams do so many different things. So in a lot of ways it isn't that much different from the Big East. Everything is pretty much the same. We will face a lot of big, strong teams and we have to become that."
The Panthers open ACC play with two road games -- N.C. State today and Tuesday at Boston College -- but Dixon doesn't see that as a disadvantage because his team already has played six games away from Petersen Events Center.
"We didn't perform as well as we wanted to in those games away from home but, hopefully, we learned from them. We know we will have nine tough road games in the ACC, and we have to be ready to play well on the road.
"Last year, we got off to a good start at N.C. State, but they are coming off a loss and we have to ... understand they are going to come out hungry and play really hard to try and get the win on their home court."
The Wolfpack has lost three of its past five games after starting the season 6-0. In two of those losses -- Tuesday against Cincinnati (76-60) and Dec. 20 against West Virginia (83-69) -- N.C. State did not play well on defense.
"They will use a mainly man, but they will also use some 1-2-2 zone," Dixon said. "The bottom line is we are going to have to execute offensively. We need to continue to improve passing the ball. We need to shoot it better, too, especially on the road at a tough place to play."
Paul Zeise: pzeise@post-gazette.com and Twitter @paulzeise.
First Published: January 3, 2015, 5:00 a.m.