Much has been made of the return of Pitt’s Justin Champagnie, and for good reason. The sophomore small forward has been a catalyst for the Panthers when he’s been on the court, and without him, the team’s recent 96-76 rout of Syracuse might not have been possible.
But the Panthers were able to stay afloat in Champagnie’s absence and are now converting his contributions into tallies in the win column. Neither of those outcomes were certainties last season, and one of the key reasons why year three of the Jeff Capel era has looked so different than seasons past is that Pitt has a weapon in shooting guard Ithiel Horton, who has begun to relish his role and is becoming the sharpshooter Pitt has been missing.