New-Look Pitt Falls Short Against NC State, 65-62

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports Pitt faced off against NC State on Sunday and the Panthers’ losing skid continued with a 65-62 defeat.

For Pitt (9-10), the story of the game was obviously the team playing without Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney, who have decided to transfer out of the program. Those two contributed a combined 28.6 points per game and their offense was clearly missed. But even without them, Pitt nearly pulled out a victory against NC State (12-9).

Even star Justin Champagnie had a subpar game. While he did contribute 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, he shot only 4-14 of the field and nearly half of his points (seven) came from the free throw line. But the Panthers…