Pitt’s 2018-19 season may have just ended, but its first game of the 2019-20 season is now set in stone – date, opponent and all.
The Panthers will face ACC foe Florida State to open coach Jeff Capel’s second season at the helm as part of a larger, two-day rollout in which each team from the conference – excluding Duke, which plays in the annual Champions Classic – plays an intra-league opponent.
The game will take place on Nov. 6 at the Petersen Events Center and will air on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. A tip-off time has not yet been set. It will be one of two matchups between the Panthers and Seminoles, with the latter being held in Tallahassee, Fla., at a yet-to-be-determined date and time.
It’s a change from how Pitt and the ACC’s other 14 members traditionally start their schedules, but next season will be a break from the ordinary for the conference. Not only will the ESPN-owned ACC Network be launching in August – with four of the season-opening men’s basketball games being broadcast on it -- but the league will be expanding its conference schedule from 18 games to 20.
“To be able to open the season with a round of conference games makes it truly unique,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. “We believe it will be a great way to tip off another outstanding season of ACC basketball for our coaches, student-athletes and fans.”
Florida State is one of six ACC teams the Panthers will play twice during the 2019-20 campaign, with the others being Louisville, Syracuse, North Carolina, Miami and Georgia Tech. The full ACC schedule, with dates and times, is expected to be released in late August.
Craig Meyer: cmeyer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @CraigMeyerPG
First Published: March 15, 2019, 8:01 p.m.
