Virginia
Preview: Panthers Finish Road Trip at Virginia Tech
PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers will face off on the road vs. Virginia Tech on Dec. 7, marking their first match in the ACC.
Pitt suffered just their second loss of the season in a 90-57 blowout at Mississippi State on Dec. 4 in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The 33-point loss ranks tied for the worst under head coach Jeff Capel, as they lost 91-58 to Wake Forest on Feb. 20.
The Panthers shot just 31.3% from the field, while the Bulldogs made 57.8% of their shots. They also led the Panthers in a number of categories, including rebounds, 49-27, defensive rebounds, 33-13, points off turnovers, 15-4, second chance points, 24-12, bench points, 36-27, and points in the paint, 52-14.
After an emphatic buzzer-beating win against Ohio State on the road on Nov. 29, it’s possible that Pitt was still thinking about that victory before heading into their matchup vs. Mississippi State.
Who can blame them? Pitt was ranked inside the AP Top 25 for the first time since the 2022-23 season when they held the No. 25 ranking for the final week of the regular season. Their No. 18 ranking is the highest since they were No. 18 for one week in the 2013-14 season, starting Jan. 27.
The Panthers were fifth in the NET Rankings before the loss to the Bulldogs They’ve since fallen to 12th.
No matter, Pitt gets a chance to prove an off-shooting and poor-rebounding night against Mississippi State is not the norm with a conclusion to their road trip at Virginia Tech.
The Panthers are catching the Hokies at a good time for their ACC opener, as their foe ranks the lowest of all ACC Teams in the NET Ranking at No. 231 with a 3-5 record.
After winning their opening three games, Virginia Tech has lost five straight, all at home. None of the losses were particularly close either. Their best showings in that stretch were a pair of 10-point losses to Jacksonville, a Quad 4 loss, and South Carolina.
Virginia Tech falls short in several facets, but offense, especially shooting, is the main struggle. The Hokies have only two players who average double-digit points in graduate student forward Mylyjael Poteat and junior forward Toibu Lawal each average 11.4 points per game.
The Hokies looks to exceed the 19-13 record it has finished the last two seasons with under sixth-year head coach Mike Young. A main reason for the Hokies’ offensive struggles is guard Hunter Cattoor graduating and taking his 13.5 points per game and 40.5% accuracy from deep with him.
Virginia Tech also lost guard Sean Pedulla to Ole Miss for his senior season. Pedulla, another high-quality three-point shooter, started every game he played in for the program over his sophomore and junior seasons and averaged 15.7 points per game over that stretch.
They looked to bring in guard Hysier Miller from Temple to fill the scoring voids left my Cattoor and Pedulla, but would release him prior to the season starting due to an on going gambling scandal during Miller’s time at Temple.
Thus, Poteat has received his first opportunity as a starter. Poteat averaged over 10 minutes per game in his first two seasons at Rice and played 68 total games over the next two seasons at Virginia Tech.
Poteat has already tripled his previous number of starts this season and is averaging career-highs in points, rebounds (5.5), assists (1.8) and minutes (24.5). Poteat is strictly an inside player standing at six-foot-nine. In his 122 career games, Poteat has only attempted two three-pointers.
Lawal is in his first season with the Hokies after spending his first two with VCU. Similar to Poteat, Lawal is getting his first real starting experience with Virginia Tech. Lawal is also a non-shooter but shoots 36.8% from deep on 19 career attempts.
Lawal recorded a career-high 23 points in Virginia Tech’s season opener against Deleware State but has hovered around 10 points per game since then. Lawal also leads the Hokies with seven blocks on the season.
On the season, the Hokies’ average 68.6 points per game, tied for the 301st in Division I, and shoot 31.5% from deep, 266th in Division I, both poor marks.
Given the Panthers are coming off a terrible shooting night, the Hokies are likely the perfect opponent to defeat on the road even if those shooting struggles don’t subside.
Sophomore guard Jaland Lowe led the Panthers with 19 points against the Bulldogs but shot 7-for-21 from the floor. Senior guard Ishmael Legget, the Panthers’ leading scorer on the season with 17 points per game, shot an uncharacteristic 3-for-14 in the defeat.
A 33-point blowout is never good, but for Pitt who just came off an emotional road victory against Ohio State, it could turn into positive momentum if they can get right against a sliding Virginia Tech team.
Pitt plays Virginia tech at 2:00 p.m. on Dec. 7 at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. The game is viewable on ESPNU.
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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia has plenty of state symbols, be it the black bear as the state animal, the cardinal as the state bird or the rhododendron as the state flower, but did you know that the Mountain State also has its own official gun?
The Hall Flintlock Model 1819 was first manufactured in Harpers Ferry by John H. Hall in 1811 and was adopted by the United States Army in 1819, making it the first breech-loading rifle ever adopted by a country’s military.
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Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution -
Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution
All of this information is listed in Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, which was introduced and passed during the 2013 West Virginia Legislative session, and officially recognizes the Model 1819 as the official firearm of the State of West Virginia.
On top of being created in West Virginia, the resolution also points out that the rifle saw use during the Civil War, an event that directly led to West Virginia’s statehood.
While having an officially recognized state firearm may seem far-fetched, West Virginia is not the only state that has one. As a matter of fact, a fifth of the states in the country have officially designated a state firearm, including West Virginia’s neighbors in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this world of college football, with the transfer portal and recruiting battles, bad blood is present more than ever before between head coaches.
That’s not the case between the Virginia Tech head coach and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, however. In fact, Franklin revealed at ACC Kickoff on Thursday that the two are actually close friends, dating back to their time at the Nike trip that various coaches take over the summer.
“Dabo’s my guy,” Franklin said on Thursday. “We go way back. We’ve been on the Nike trip for a long time. His wife and my wife are friends.”
The long-time Penn State head coach is making the move to the ACC after being fired from the Nittany Lions in October. 12 seasons of being with the program had Franklin hold a 44-21 record against top 10 opponents, an impressive record for a new conference foe of Swinney’s.
But when that trip comes around, there’s a camaraderie between Swinney and Franklin and both of their wives. In fact, the two hang out with each other instead of the other coaches at times. It simply comes to an “edgy” time in college athletics that raises tempers.
“I’m going to be honest, I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily like the type of people that love a lot of other coaches and a lot of other programs,” Franklin said. “It’s hard when you just compete year-round.”
On Swinney’s end, there are a few who could immediately come to mind among Clemson fans. Perhaps the most recent would be Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, who played the most significant role in the tampering of former linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
It’s a select list of coaches who make the good side of the Tigers’ head coach, and Franklin is certainly on that list. On the other hand, Hokies’ head coach has Swinney on his own shortlist.
“Obviously, tremendous respect for what he has built at Clemson and what he’s done at Clemson, and what he’s done for the ACC,” he said.
The two will see that close relationship face off at Memorial Stadium this upcoming season. Clemson will host the Hokies on Oct. 24 in what could be a potential title-eliminator for the ACC Championship.
Of course, the last game that we’ve seen the Tigers play in was against Franklin’s former team in Penn State at the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. That game ended in a 22-10 contest that saw a foundation of Franklin players end Clemson’s season in disappointment.
Swinney will see many of those players once again in October, including starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, in that contest. The anticipated Hokie starter recorded 260 yards and two passing touchdowns on the Tigers in the Bronx that day.
Although friends become foes, another ACC coach has given Swinney his flowers for what he’s been able to do for the conference. In the upcoming moments, Franklin will look to prepare his team to prove itself on one of the biggest stages in the ACC, while Swinney looks to put his team back at the top of a conference he’s dominated for over 15 years.
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WSET) — Extreme drought conditions in parts of Virginia have prompted an emergency drought warning for a wide swath of the region, including Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania and Roanoke counties, along with the cities of Danville, Roanoke, Salem and Martinsville.
The governor has warned that if conditions worsen, she will activate mandatory nonessential water-use restrictions.
In Martinsville, city leaders have issued a voluntary water conservation notice and are urging residents and businesses to cut back where they can. The request comes as local businesses that rely heavily on water say the drought is already affecting day-to-day operations.
SEE ALSO: Botetourt County residents adjust daily routines as voluntary water restriction continues
John Hughes, owner of John’s Car Wash, said the dry conditions have hit his business hard in recent weeks. “For the last 3 weeks, it’s been hitting pretty hard. We done three yesterday and haven’t done anything today with the drought and hot weather. Yeah, I’m really concerned about it,” Hughes said.
Restaurants are also feeling the strain. David Kitzmiller, an owner of Be Wiched, said water is essential for routine tasks such as washing dishes and preparing some menu items.
“We use a lot of water for washing dishes and some of our recipes if they limit us in anyway defiently can’t produce and its a scary aspect,” Kitzmiller said.
Kitzmiller added that cutting back is not always realistic for businesses that must meet sanitation needs. “Not really feasible for a business that depends solely relies on water to wash their dishes, so that can’t definitely be an impact there,” he said.
City leaders emphasized that the conservation request is voluntary for now, but they are encouraging everyone to do their part by taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when it is not in use, washing only full loads of laundry, and limiting outdoor watering whenever possible.
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