Pitt and West Virginia will put their undefeated records on the line in the annual basketball Backyard Brawl on Thursday in Morgantown W.Va.

First-year Mountaineers coach Ross Hodge learned the first day on the job about the importance of the game. It's the 192nd meeting between Pitt (3-0) and West Virginia (3-0), and the Mountaineers hold a 101-90 series lead. West Virginia has won six of the past eight meetings in the series

"I had this job for about one minute and somebody (asked me about this game)," said Hodge, hired away from North Texas. "I think everyone associated with our program understands how big the game is. You can 'coach speak' it or you can ignore it. But that would be disingenuous. It means a lot to this state, to our fan base and to us."

Hodge continued: "Once the bal

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