New on Sports Illustrated: Pitt looks to bounce back vs. Drexel

Pittsburgh began its season in a dismal manner and will look for a sharp turnaround when it hosts Drexel in Saturday's nonconference affair.

The Panthers are hoping to make strides in Jeff Capel's third season as coach but signs of improvement were limited during a hapless. 80-70 home loss to Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh (0-1) shot just 39.7 percent from the field -- including 6 of 24 3-point attempts -- and committed 23 turnovers.

"We have to understand we're not as good as we thought we were," Capel said. "That's one of the main things. It's hard for young guys to understand that when we're just against each other. There's a feeling we had that we're really good. We have a chance to be good, but we have to understand that all of these things are required to have a chance to be good.

"If you don't have energy, it's not going to happen. If you don't value the basketball, it's not going to happen. I don't care what your talent is -- it's not going to happen. That's where we have to learn."

Junior guard Au'Diese Toney scored a team-best 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Toney made 4 of 6 3-point attempts while notching his fourth career 20-point outing.

Pittsburgh scored the game's first two points and never led again. Saint Francis (1-0) led by double digits most of the contest.

"One lesson I could take away is that you got to bring it every single night," freshman swingman William Jeffress said after scoring seven points in 20 minutes off the bench. "Everybody's beatable and if you don't come out with energy and you don't come out the gates right away, it's hard to come from behind. We were kind of flat and our intensity dropped as St Francis started to pull away."

Drexel is opening its season after its scheduled Wednesday opener at Penn State was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

It wasn't divulged which school needed to pull out but two days prior to the contest, Dragons coach Zach Spiker said none of his players had tested positive for COVID-19.

Drexel figures to provide some tough matchups for the Panthers, as senior forward James Butler and point guard Camren Wynter were first-team preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association choices.

Butler averaged 13.2 points and a team-leading 11.7 rebounds per game last season, when he had 20 double-doubles.

Wynter led the Dragons in scoring (15.7) and assists (5.1). The junior also was the team leader in steals (54) and 3-pointers (44).

Spiker said the coronavirus pandemic proved to be a formidable obstacle when preparing for the season.

"It's been more challenging for our freshmen to pick up things and come along because we didn't have summer or fall workouts," Spiker said. "It's been a time crunch, but there's been a time crunch for everyone, so we're not complaining."

Drexel was just 1-13 in road games last season while compiling a 14-19 overall mark.

--Field Level Media