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Clemson basketball vs. Pittsburgh: Score prediction, scouting report for ACC game

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2024

Clemson basketball vs. Pittsburgh: Score prediction, scouting report for ACC game

CLEMSON — After gaining ground ahead of the middle of the ACC standings in Saturday’s win vs. Florida State, Clemson basketball (19-8, 9-7) hosts Pittsburgh (18-9, 9-7) in another critical conference matchup Tuesday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers are coming off a 74-63 win in which their leading scorer and shot blocker, PJ Hall, played a season-low 16 minutes. Now they shift their focus to the Panthers, a team that has the second-best road record in the conference (6-3).

“As much as anything, they’re just playing with tremendous confidence,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “That’s a big thing on the road because your team has to truly believe they’re going to win. You’re going into places, you’re just executing your plan and you’re not distracted by the environment.”

Pittsburgh, which has won six of its past seven games, defeated Virginia Tech 79-64 on Saturday. The Panthers hope to split the regular-season series against the Tigers after losing 79-70 on Dec. 3. The teams are tied with North Carolina State for fifth in the ACC.

Here are three things to know and a score prediction:

RJ Godfrey, Clemson’s reserves come through as team battles attrition

With Hall in early foul trouble Saturday, it opened the door for 6-foot-8 RJ Godfrey to maximize his time off the bench again. He gave an instant boost to Clemson, thanks to his size and athleticism on both ends of the floor. He recorded 12 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals against Florida State. Brownell said it was “maybe his best game at Clemson.”

The sophomore has played at least 20 minutes in his past three games. His additional minutes correlate to Hall and Ian Schieffelin missing practices due to undisclosed injuries. As a result, Godfrey and the reserve unit are receiving extra reps, and their results are showing up on the floor.

The Tigers’ bench (Godfrey, Josh Beadle, Chauncey Wiggins, Dillon Hunter) scored 23 points Saturday — their fifth straight game scoring in double figures — and added four blocks and four steals.

“There’s not many guys left to work on the post stuff, so our perimeter guys are just getting a lot of work,” Brownell said. “We’re walking through a lot of things. RJ is getting a lot of extra work, and that’s helped him become a better player.”

Tigers continue to respond to Brownell’s call to be better defensively

Monday’s “difficult” film session — when Clemson coaches challenged the players and emphasized to them to be aggressive on defense — has resonated with the Tigers. After holding Georgia Tech to 57 points — a season low in conference play, they held FSU to 63, which is 13 points fewer than its points per game average.

Clemson finished Saturday’s game with nine blocks, tying a season high, and six steals, its most since Jan. 20. It has held opponents to under 70 points in four of its past five games. The outlier was against NC State, allowing the Wolfpack to score 78, which sparked the intense film session.

“We’ve worked hard on our defense the last month or so,” Brownell said. “It’s gotten better, and one of the things that we’ve got to do is just continue to get our hands on a few balls.”

PROTECTING PLAYERS: ‘We can’t have players getting hurt’: Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell on court storming

What makes Pittsburgh a tough out?

The Tigers must figure out how to slow down guard Blake Hinson. He is second in the ACC in points per game with 18.9, shoots 42.2% from 3-point range and leads the conference in made 3-pointers (95). The last time Clemson faced an elite scorer was NC State’s DJ Horne, who finished with 27 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final seconds on Feb. 17.

The Panthers are also a dominant rebounding team, averaging 12 offensive boards, which ranks second in the ACC. Defensively, they allow the third-fewest points (67.1) and the lowest 3-point field goal percentage (29.8%) in the conference. Federiko Federiko and Zack Austin are among the best shot blockers in the ACC; both have 38 blocks this season.

Clemson basketball score prediction vs. Pitt

Clemson 73, Pittsburgh 69: This crucial ACC game is going to go down to the wire. In a game like this, look for both teams’ best players to dominate. Hinson will be dynamic, but expect Hall, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds in their first matchup, to lead the Tigers to their third straight victory by having a greater impact on both ends of the floor.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

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Silovs makes 22 saves, Penguins shut out Golden Knights | NHL.com

Published

9 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Silovs makes 22 saves, Penguins shut out Golden Knights | NHL.com

Vegas allowed two power-play goals on Pittsburgh’s four chances after giving up one on 12 opportunities the previous four games.

“I think we just had poor execution all game long,” Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith said. “Obviously, our penalty kill has been pretty good for us and that wasn’t good enough tonight.”

Rickard Rakell pushed it to 4-0 on another power play at 15:06, stopping a shot from Karlsson with his left skate and wrapping a shot around Hill.

Brazeau scored on a wrist shot from above the right circle at 14:59 of the third period for the 5-0 final.

“Second period, they took it to us,” McNabb said. “We were out of it, basically.”

NOTES: With goals from Kindel, Chinakhov and Brazeau, the Penguins have 73 goals by players in their first season with the team. It’s the most in the NHL this season and 13 more than the next closest (the Anaheim Ducks, 59). … The Golden Knights have been outscored 9-1 in the first and second periods of their first three games out of the break for the Olympics. … Karlsson has 908 points (204 goals, 704 assists), tied with Scott Stevens (908 points; 196 goals, 712 assists) for the 13th-most by a defenseman in League history. … Vegas forward Mitch Marner had a point streak end at six games (seven points; four goals, three assists).

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Pittsburgh and Vegas take the ice for non-conference matchup

Published

21 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Pittsburgh and Vegas take the ice for non-conference matchup

Vegas Golden Knights (28-17-14, in the Pacific Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (30-15-13, in the Metropolitan Division)

Pittsburgh; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Golden Knights -149, Penguins +125; over/under is 6.5

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights square off in a non-conference matchup.

Pittsburgh has a 14-8-7 record at home and a 30-15-13 record overall. The Penguins have scored 197 total goals (3.4 per game) to rank 10th in NHL play.

Vegas is 28-17-14 overall and 14-9-7 in road games. The Golden Knights are 27-6-8 in games they score at least three goals.

Sunday’s game is the first meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Anthony Mantha has 21 goals and 23 assists for the Penguins. Benjamin Kindel has six goals and one assist over the last 10 games.

Mark Stone has 21 goals and 38 assists for the Golden Knights. Pavel Dorofeyev has seven goals and three assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 7-1-2, averaging 4.2 goals, 7.1 assists, 3.3 penalties and 6.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.

Golden Knights: 4-4-2, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.8 assists, 2.6 penalties and 5.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game.

INJURIES: Penguins: None listed.

Golden Knights: None listed.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Oneil Cruz Powers Pirates Past Astros

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz needs to have a great season for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2026 and his strong Spring Training continued in their most recent victory.

Cruz hit a three-run home run off of Houston Astros right-handed pitcher Jayden Murray in the top of the fifth inning, playing a big role in the 5-2 victory at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla.

He waited on a changeup on the second pitch, 85.1 mph over the middle of the plate and sent it 106.4 mph off the bat and 368 feet, scoring both left fielder Billy Cook and third baseman Alika Williams with two outs.

That marks the first home run for Cruz in the Grapefruit League, who has had a great Spring Training so far, slashing .538/.600/.846 for an OPS of 1.446 in five games, with seven hits in 13 at-bats.

Pittsburgh got the win after the top of the sixth inning, after a rain delay ended the game.

Pirates Rookie Pitchers Have Up-And-Down Showing vs. Astros

Right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft made his second start for the Pirates in the Grapefruit League and dominated vs. the Astros.

Sep 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft (67) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Ashcraft threw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and a walk, while posting two strikeouts for Pittsburgh.

Former Pirates pitcher, right-handed starter Mike Burrows, countered Ashcraft for the Astros. He threw three scoreless innings himself, allowed one hit and a walk and posted four strikeouts.

The Pirates traded Burrows to the Houston Astros in the three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Dec. 19, that landed them second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-handed relief pitcher Mason Montgomery.

Right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler made his second appearance for the Pirates in the Grapefruit League and threw two innings.

Chandler immediately loaded the bases, walking both third baseman Carlos Correa and first baseman Christian Walker, then giving up a single to center fielder Cam Smith.

He came back and struckout right fielder Taylor Trammell and got left fielder Zach Dezenzo to pop out, but gave up a single to second baseman Brice Matthews and a run to the Astros, before ending the inning with a strikeout.

Chandler also gave up a solo home run to Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes, on a slider down in the zone.

He finished his outing with three hits, three walks and two earned runs allowed over 1.1 innings pitched, before left-handed pitcher Derek Diamond got the last two outs of the inning.

Chandler struggled in his first Spring Training start vs. the New York Yankees at LECOM Park in Bradenton on Feb. 23, where he allowed four earned runs over 1.2 innings of work.

Feb 23, 2026; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler (36) throws a pitch during the second inning against the New York Yankees at LECOM Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Pirates will need better showings from Chandler, who should serve as a key piece of their starting rotation in 2026.

Other Important Notes from Pirates Victory

The Pirates added two runs in the top of the sixth inning, as Cook hit a single that scored second baseman Nick Yorke and then Williams singled, scoring Cook to make it a 5-2 ball game.

Cook had just one hit in eight at-bats coming into this game and scored twice in the victory, as he walked before the Cruz home run.

Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna led the Pirates with two hits, a good sign for them, as they’ll rely on him greatly for his power and hitting in 2026.

The Pirates are now 7-2 in the Grapefruit League and tied with the Yankees for the top of the standings.

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!

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