MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Coach Darian DeVries earned his first West Virginia basketball victory against Robert Morris 11 days ago, and now he will get his first taste of the Backyard Brawl on Friday night in Pittsburgh.
 
It will be the 191^st meeting between these two longtime rivals since 1906 and the seventh in the last eight years. The 2020 date was canceled because of scheduling adjustments made to accommodate COVID-19, interrupting a series that was resumed in 2017 after a five-year hiatus.
 
"I think it's a great game," DeVries said earlier this week. "You are an hour apart. and it's a great challenge for both teams early in the year.
 
"It's a significant game for us," he noted. "We know it's a significant game for the fan bases, and you know both teams are going to play as hard as they can to try and win this game.
 
"When you are in sports, you know and understand rivalries, going back to high school rivalry games. There is a little different buzz in the air when you are playing these games," DeVries said.
 
Pitt's Jeff Capel has coached in six Backyard Brawls and won his first one last year in Morgantown.
 
In that game, Blake Hinson and Bub Carrington scored 29 and 16 respectively. Those two are now playing in the NBA, but several members on this year's Pitt roster were in Morgantown for last year's win.
 
Ishmael Leggett, a 6-foot-3 senior guard who began his collegiate career at Rhode Island, was in the starting lineup and scored 10. Forward Zack Austin also started, while the Diaz Graham brothers, Guillermo and Jorge, and guard Jaland Lowe saw significant action.
 
Lowe has moved into Pitt's lineup this year with Leggett, 7-foot Guillermo Diaz Graham and transfers Damian Dunn and Cameron Corhen.
 
Austin is now coming off the bench.
 
Dunn was a player Capel pursued when he left Temple and transferred to Houston. Capel re-recruited him last spring after Dunn averaged 6.4 points per game for the Cougars. The 6-foot-5 guard scored at a 15.3-points-per-game clip in his final year with the Owls.
 
Corhen, a 6-foot-10, 235-pound junior forward from Allen, Texas, played at Florida State last year where he averaged 9.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and shot 62.9% from the floor for the Seminoles.
 
So far this year, Corhen shows averages of 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in Pitt's victories against Radford, Murray State and Gardner-Webb.
 
Leggett has been outstanding with a team-high 21 points in Monday night's win over Gardner-Webb and is averaging 19.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. The senior made 7 of 9 from the floor against Gardner-Webb and is connecting on 68.8% of his field goal tries so far this year, including 5 of 11 from 3-point distance.
 
Lowe is contributing 16.3 points and a team-best 14 assists, while Dunn is averaging 14 and shooting 50% from the floor.
 
Collectively, the Panthers have made 94 of their 184 field goal attempts for 51.1%; have a five-rebound edge on the glass and own double-digit margins in all three games this season.
 
"I know they like to get out and run, and we like to get out and run, and I certainly anticipate both teams wanting to run, whether it plays out that way and if the defenses allow you to do that, we'll see," DeVries said. 
 
"They are very aggressive in transition. They have multiple guys who can put a lot of pressure on the rim and a lot of guys that can space the floor as well," he added. "Their two-point field goal percentage, a lot of that is putting pressure on the rim; they get fouled, they get easy baskets at the rim, and they also get kick-out 3s. They can play either way, which is what makes them challenging to try and stop."
 
Ofri Naveh was the only returning Mountaineer player to see action in last year's Pitt game but has since announced on social media he is redshirting this season.
 
West Virginia, 2-0 with victories over Robert Morris and UMass, is expected to go with a starting lineup consisting of Javon Small, Sencire Harris, Tucker DeVries and Toby Okani in the backcourt, with 6-foot-8 sophomore Amani Hansberry working the paint.
 
DeVries (17.5 ppg.), Small (13.5 ppg.), Hansberry (12.5 ppg.) and freshman Jonathan Powell (10.5 ppg) are the team's top scorers.
 
Center Eduardo Andre and guards Joseph Yesufu and KJ Tenner should also see action.
 
Senior guard Jayden Stone, who averaged 20.8 points per game last season at Detroit Mercy, has not played yet this season and DeVries still lists him as "day-to-day."
 
Friday night's game will tip off at 8 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Extra and ESPN+ (Jason Earle and Nick Rivers).
 
"Our guys are excited to play," DeVries said. "It's a fun game for everyone; when you are involved in rivalries like this, the fan bases are energized, and it means a lot to both sides.
 
"It doesn't take much for our guys to figure out that it's an important game," he added. "I think that's what makes college sports what it is. These types of games, the players really enjoy, the coaches enjoy, and fans enjoy. It's early in the season, but there are implications for every game, and this is certainly a big game for both of us."
 
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and David Kahn begins at 7 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
 
West Virginia leads the series 101-89 and has won six out of the last seven. WVU is 5-7 in games played at the Petersen Events Center and is 38-56 all-time in games played in Pittsburgh.