Penn State and Pittsburgh Meet for the 150th Time

By: Ethan Hennessy

Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh and Penn State tipped off the 150^th meeting in series history Sunday night at the historic Palestra. Penn State held a 76-73 series advantage entering the game. In the 2026-27 campaign, both teams have tallied two wins and no losses through the first week of the season. Penn State has wins over Canisius and Chattanooga while Pitt bested Rider and Buffalo.

The story early on was Penn State’s foul trouble. The Nittany Lions committed five personal fouls before the first media timeout of the game. Pitt continued the trend as both teams had committed a combined 22 fouls through the first 14 minutes of game time. Both teams struggled to get scoring runs going because of the stoppages for fouls. Penn State finally created a little separation when Bryant Byers connected on a top of the key three pointer to put the Nittany Lions up four. Pitt coach Jeff Cappel called a timeout to halt their momentum. A few possessions later, Byers was at it again, hitting another three to extend the Penn State lead.

The mostly Jalil Bathea finished off a Panthers fast break to tie the game at 35 in the final minutes of the first half. The Palestra, which was comprised of mostly Pitt fans, erupted and began a loud “Let’s go Pitt” chant. Pittsburgh used the momentum to surge ahead 42-38 going into the break.

The teams continued their even play after intermission. With 11 minutes left in the game, Pitt was clinging to a slim two-point lead. A’lahn Sumler made a layup plus a free throw to give Pitt a 63-56 lead with around nine and a half minutes to go. Penn State struggled to stop Pitt defensively in the final moments. Ivan Juric gave Penn State hope with a deep three to cut the lead to five with 46 seconds to play. However, Penn State was forced to foul and Pitt secured the game at the charity stripe.

Penn State looks to bounce back when they host Mercyhurst at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday. Up next for the Pitt Panthers is a date with Butler at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.