PITTSBURGH – It is finally that time!
 
The Radford men's basketball program is set to open the highly anticipated 2024-25 campaign at Pittsburgh on Monday night. The clash with the ACC power will be played in front of a national audience on ACC Network Extra, with a tip set for 7 PM ET.
 
SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Pittsburgh Panthers (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
Date and Time: Monday, November 4 | 7 PM ET
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Petersen Events Center)
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
TV/Streaming: ACC Network Extra
Radio: WRAD 101.7 FM, 103.5 FM, 1460 AM
Live Stats: Follow Live Here
Tickets: Purchase Tickets Here
 
SERIES HISTORY
The meeting between the Highlanders and Panthers will be the first between the two programs all-time. Radford is currently 3-29 against current ACC programs. The Highlanders have picked up huge victories against Notre Dame in 2018 and Virginia Tech in both 1999 and 2014. 
 
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Pittsburgh is coming off a 22-11 campaign in 2023-24 that included a run to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The Panthers are led by Jeff Capel, in his seventh season with the program. Capel owns a record of 259-202 overall to go with four NCAA Tournament appearances, which includes a trip to the Elite Eight with Oklahoma in 2008. Last season, the Panters posted a 20-plus win, 10-plus conference win season for the second consecutive year. Pittsburgh owned its highest conference tournament seed in program history (the No. 4 seed) since joining the ACC and became the first team in ACC history to start 1-5 or worse through six games and finish regular-season conference play with a winning record. Pittsburgh went 12-4 over the final two months of the season and was one of the last four teams out for the NCAA Tournament, despite posting nine Quad 1/Quad 2 wins and finishing 40th in the final NET rankings. Following the strongly debated outcome, the Panthers declined a trip to the NIT.
 
NICHOLS LEADING THE CHARGE
The Highlanders are once again led by Radford's own Darris Nichols, now in his fourth season as the head of the program. Nichols, a member of Coaches 4 Change, garnered a spot in ESPN.com's 40 Under 40 in the summer of 2020. He came in at No. 17 on the national list, that included both head and assistant coaches. Nichols was also rated the No. 2 assistant coach in the SEC at the time. He coached three future NBA players while at Florida in Dorian Finney-Smith, Devin Robinson and Chris Chiozza and helped the Gators to a 123-75 record overall (that included four-straight 20-win seasons and four straight trips to the NCAA) before he returned home with the Highlanders for the 2021-22 campaign. Under his leadership, Radford has finished no worse than tied for third in the conference over the past two years that included a 21-15, 2022-23 that ended all the way in the CBI Semifinals. In October 2021, Nichols was inducted into the Radford High School Hall of Fame, alongside his brother and Radford assistant coach Shane Nichols. Then in November 2021, The Athletics included Nichols on their "40 under 40" list as one of the 40 most influential people in the game of college men's basketball under the age of 40.
 
PREVIEWING THE SQUAD
Year four for Nichols features a ton of exciting talent for the Highlanders. Truth Harris, Josiah Harris, TJ NeSmith and Ibu Yamazaki highlight the four returners to the squad for the 2024-25 campaign. The standout group is fully healthly this year and will look to make a mark on the Big South Conference. Harris appeared in 29 games in 2023-24 and averaged 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game off of 48.3 percent shooting from the field. Three incoming freshmen include Zion Walker, Brennan Chatman and Brock Rose who will look to make their collegiate debuts this season while the rest of the roster comes through talented transfers Brandon Maclin (Odessa), Chace Davis (UMES), Isaiah Gaines (Florida Atlantic), Jonas Sirtautas (Wyoming), Tony Felder (Stonehill), Jarvis Moss (Davidson), David Early (Tennessee Tech) and Xavier Foster (SMU).
 
TUNE UP VICTORY
The Highlanders cruised to a dominant victory over Bridgewater in an exhibition inside the Dedmon Center back on October 24. Just about every Highlander got in on the scoring as the program put on a thrilling display as a preview for what's to come in 2024-25.
 
GET IN THE GAME: FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
Get in the game and get New River City made by staying up to date with the latest from Radford Men's Basketball through @RadfordHoops on X, @radfordhoops on Instagram, Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook and subscribe to the Radford Athletics Youtube channel.