The first two games of the season have summed up Pittsburgh’s season.

The Panthers squeezed out a 63-61 win vs. Florida State on Nov. 6, but then followed up with a 75-70 loss against Nicholls three days later.

The ACC schedule has gone south for head coach Jeff Capel with five straight losses. An NIT berth appears out of the Panthers’ hands at this point of the season.

Pittsburgh (15-14 overall, 6-12 ACC) plays at NC State (17-11 overall, 8-9 ACC) at 12 p.m. Saturday at PNC Arena on the ACC Network.

Pittsburgh are mostly built around its sophomores and freshman. The trio of point guard Xavier Johnson, shooting guard Trey McGowens and forward Au’Diese Toney, all sophomores, lead the way. The group has been joined by freshman forward Justin Champagnie in Pittsburgh’s slow rebuild.

Johnson in particular, was a huge surprise last year. He was released from his letter of intent from Nebraska and went for 15.5 points and 4.5 assists per game last year. He’s fallen to 11.7 points and 5.1 assists per game this season.

Rankings

In the newly established NET rankings done by the NCAA, Pittsburgh is ranked No. 111 in the country this season.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has Pittsburgh ranked No. 102, and KenPom.com has the Panthers at No. 113.

Pittsburgh is ranked No. 134 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Shooting

Pittsburgh is 13th in the ACC at 64.9 points per game and last in the league in shooting 40.3 percent from the field. Pitt is 14th in the ACC in shooting three-pointers (28.9 percent).

Junior wing Ryan Murphy started his college career at Charlotte and then transferred to New Mexico Junior College, and landed at Pittsburgh. He leads the Panthers at 40 of 120 on three-pointers for 33.3 percent, plus 83.3 percent on free throws. Pitt has four players who have made at least 27 three-pointers this season.

Rebounding

Pittsburgh ranks 12th in the ACC with 34.3 rebounds per game, and 12th with minus-1.8 rebounding margin. However, the Panthers are adept in offensive rebounding at 11.8 a game, which ranks third in the league. Pitt is 10th in blocks (3.41) and fourth in steals (7.72).

Freshman forward Justin Champagnie has been a boost on the boards at 7.4 rebounds per game, and sophomore forward Au’Diese Toney is right behind at 5.0.

Defense

The Panthers rank fourth in the ACC in allowing 64.6 points per game, and 12th in the league with opponents shooting 42.5 percent from the field. The Panthers have been susceptible from three-point land, ranking 14th in the league at 34.2 percent.

Junior center Terrell Brown is a gifted shot-blocker with 49 blocks, and McGowens has 52 steals and Johnson is right behind with 50.

Depth

The aforementioned Murphy is one of four players who usually come off the bench for the Panthers. He’s averaging 8.3 points per game. Former Wichita State and UNCG center Eric Hamilton is averaging 5.1 points and 4.0 rebounds a game.

Power forward Abdoul Karim Coulibaly and forward Gerald Drumgoole, both freshmen, round out the bench.

Sophomore shooting guard Trey McGowens was originally in the class of 2018, but made the move to Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy and reclassified to 2019.

NC State started to recruit the Pendleton, S.C., native, but when Pittsburgh hired Capel, he got McGowens and Toney to both bypass a senior year of high school and enroll with the Panthers.

McGowens has been consistent both years with the Panthers. He’s averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season. He’s shooting 30.1 percent from three-point land, but is struggling from the field at 36.2 percent.

McGowens has shown he can explode for big numbers. He went 4 of 8 on three-pointers en route to 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds in a 73-65 win over North Carolina on Jan. 8. He has reached 20-plus points in three different games this season.

However, McGowens has struggled the last five games. He’s gone a combined 10 of 39 from the field for 34 points. Coincidentally, Pittsburgh has lost all five contests.

NC State

PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Sr., 13.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 6.5 apg, 2.0 spg)

SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 13.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.3 spg)

G — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, R-Jr., 12.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.7 spg)

PF — 0 D.J. Funderburk (6-10, 225, R-Jr., 12.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.3 apg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-Fr., 5.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.3 apg, 2.9 bpg)

Pittsburgh

PG — 1 Xavier Johnson (6-3, 200, Soph., 11.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.7 spg)

SG — 2 Trey McGowens (6-4, 190, Soph., 11.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.8 spg)

SF — 11 Justin Champagnie (6-6, 200, Fr., 12.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.2 spg)

F — 5 Au’Diese Toney (6-6, 210, Soph., 9.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.1 spg)

C — 21 Terrell Brown (6-10, 235, Jr., 5.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.2 apg, 1.7 bpg)

3.41: Turnover margin for the Panthers, which leads the ACC and is 19th nationally.

28.9: Three-point field-goal percentage for Pittsburgh, which is the lowest in the program’s history.

21.0: Points per game averaged last year by sophomore point guard Xavier Johnson against NC State.

Pittsburgh freshman forward Justin Champagnie has been a surprising boost for the Panthers, leading the squad in both points and scoring.

Champagnie and his twin brother Julian Champagnie were both in the class of 2020 for Brooklyn (N.Y.) Bishop Loughlin, and each made the move to 2019. Justin picked Pittsburgh, where he’s averaging 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Julian selected St. John’s, where he’s chipping in 9.1 points and 6.4 rebounds a contest.

Justin Champagnie busted out for 30 points and nine rebounds in a 73-64 victory vs. Georgia Tech on Feb. 8, which is the last win Pittsburgh has had. Champagnie has scored at least 20 points in five games, and has six double-doubles for points and rebounds. He had 13 poitns and 17 rebounds in Pitt’s last game, a 72-49 home loss against Syracuse on Wednesday.

Champagnie isn’t shy on letting it loose from deep, but has been in a slump of late. He’s 4 of 24 from beyond the arc over his last five games on three-pointers. He’s shooting 25.7 percent from beyond the mark this season.

The 6-5, 205-pound Devon Daniels is averaging 12.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season, and he is shooting 35.1 percent from three-point land.

——

• Talk about it inside The State of Basketball

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook