FACTS & STATS: Petersen Events Center (12,500) -- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Television: ESPN-R. Home Record: BU 1-2, Pittsburgh 5-0. Away Record: BU 0-2, Pittsburgh 0-0. Neutral Record: BU 0-0, Pittsburgh 0-0. Conference Record: BU 0-0, Pittsburgh 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The 14th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers will attempt to win their 25th straight game against a non-conference opponent at home tonight, as they entertain the Boston University Terriers at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers are in the midst of a season-opening seven-game homestand and they have certainly capitalized on their homecourt advantage early on, posting five straight wins by double-figure margins. The team was last in play on Friday, when it trounced Buffalo by a score of 92-45. The victory moved Pittsburgh one step closer to opening the season 6-0 for the sixth consecutive year. As for BU, it has dropped its last four outings following a season-opening win over St. Bonaventure (68-57). The Terriers last took the court on Sunday, when they were defeated at Marshall 70-47. BU and Pittsburgh have never met previously on the hardwood, but the Panthers are a perfect 5-0 all-time versus teams from the America East Conference.

The Terriers have had some issues at the offensive end of the court this season, as they are scoring a mere 55.4 ppg and shooting a sub par 38.4 percent from the floor and a dismal 25.5 percent from long distance. Corey Lowe currently leads the team in scoring with 14.8 ppg, but he is expected to miss his second straight game for personal reasons. That leaves Scott Brittain as the team's only double-figure scorer with 11.2 ppg, and he is also grabbing a club-best 5.0 rpg. In the team's latest outing, BU made only 38.1 percent of its field goal tries and it also turned the ball over 19 times in a lopsided loss to Marshall. The team didn't have much success from behind the arc (3- of-16) or even at the foul line (12-of-20) in the setback. Brittain paced the Terriers in defeat with 13 points and four boards.

Through the first five games, the Panthers have been simply dominant, outscoring their foes by a 31.8 ppg margin. The team is outrebounding its opponents by an impressive 15.8 rpg, and it is also forcing 17.8 turnovers per game. Sam Young leads this balanced attack and he is nearly averaging a double- double with team-highs of 19.0 ppg and 9.4 rpg. Freshman DeJuan Blair has provided a nice complement to Young and he ranks second on the team with 10.4 ppg and 8.2 rpg. In the squad's prior outing, Young poured in 20 points and ripped down eight caroms in leading Pittsburgh to an easy win over Buffalo. Keith Benjamin contributed 17 points off the bench, while Levance Fields logged 15 points and seven assists in the winning cause. The Panthers won the battle on the boards 42-29, in addition to forcing Buffalo into 25 turnovers.

The Panthers are in line for another big time performance, as they are the far superior team here. Expect Pittsburgh to dominate all facets of the game en route to another convincing victory tonight.

Predicted Outcome

Pittsburgh 80, Boston University 45