WOAY – West Virginia men’s basketball announced Thursday that the “Backyard Brawl” series with the Pittsburgh Panthers has been extended two seasons. WVU will host the Panthers in the 2021-22 season, before traveling to Pittsburgh in 2022-23.
The series renewed last season with the Mountaineers winning 68-53 in Pittsburgh. West Virginia is scheduled to host the Panthers on November 13; WVU has won the last four meetings, and leads the all-time series 99-88.
“We are certainly pleased to extend the men’s basketball series between West Virginia and Pitt,” WVU athletic director Shane Lyons said. “I’ve said numerous times that one of my first goals as athletic director was to renew the football and basketball series with Pitt because it is good for both schools. I want to thank (Pitt athletic director) Heather Lyke, coach Bob Huggins and coach Jeff Capel for their efforts in extending the basketball series. The fans are the real winners because this series is great for college basketball.”
“The Pitt game has been our biggest rival,” men’s basketball head coach Bob Huggins adds. “We are thrilled to add another two games to the series. During the last three months or so, I’ve seen numerous WVU-Pitt games being replayed on ESPN. In addition to both fan bases, there is always a national interest in the Backyard Brawl.”
This news comes following the announcement earlier this week that West Virginia will play Purdue this season in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational in Brooklyn, New York. That game is part of a quadruple-header December 13 at the Barclays Center.