Sports briefs
WVU basketball will play Pitt, RMU
West Virginia has released its nonconference men’s basketball schedule for the 2020-21 season and it includes home games against Pitt and Robert Morris plus three games in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
WVU will open the season with four consecutive home games. The opener will be Nov. 10 against Fairleigh Dickinson. Three days later, the Mountaineers will host Pitt on Friday, Nov. 13.
After playing Stony Brook (Nov. 17) and Bowling Green (Nov. 20), WVU will have three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving. The brackets have not been announced but the field features West Virginia, Duke, Ohio State, Creighton, Wichita State, Utah, Texas A&M and Memphis.
WVU will play a Big East team on either Dec. 5 or 6 in the Big East-Big 12 Battle with the opponent and location to be announced.
Robert Morris will play at WVU for the first time in 10 years on Dec. 9. On Dec. 13, the Mountaineers will play Purdue in Brooklyn, New York, in the Hall of Fame Invitational.
WVU will finish December with home games Dec. 22 against Youngstown State and Dec. 29 against Miami (Ohio). The Mountaineers will close nonconference play Jan. 30 with an opponent and location to be determined in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
“We just played the second-toughest schedule in the country and this schedule will be no different,” WVU coach Bob Huggins said. “We’ve done a great job in recent years in bringing teams to the Coliseum that have gone on to do well in their respective leagues. Obviously, the field in the Bahamas is loaded, then mix in Pitt, Purdue, the Big East Battle and the SEC Challenge. This is another challenging schedule.”
Panthers to sign former XFL standout
A person familiar with the situation says the Panthers have agreed to terms on contracts with former XFL quarterback P.J. Walker of the Houston Roughnecks and former Raiders linebacker Tahir Whitehead.
The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the moves have not been announced by the team since the players have yet to pass physicals. The person says Walker agreed to a two-year contract and Whitehead will get a one-year deal.
Both Walker and Whitehead played college football at Temple under new Panthers coach Matt Rhule.
The 25-year-old Walker was one of the stars of the XFL and a leading MVP candidate, throwing for 1,338 yards with 15 touchdown passes while leading the Roughnecks to a 5-0 start before the league canceled its season because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Cal’s Pegram gets all-district honor
California University junior guard Brent Pegram was tabbed National Association of Basketball Coaches second team all-district Monday.
Pegram is the Vulcans’ first recipient of the accolade from the organization in more than a decade. He earned the honor after a stellar season in which he was named to the All-PSAC West first team.
A native of Maryland, Pegram finished the year ranked third in the conference in scoring at 20.0 points per game. He scored in double figures in all 30 games, including 13 20-point performances. Pegram became the Vulcans’ first 1,000-point scorer since Borris Mesnager (2003-06).
Pegram ranked second in the league with a .384 three-point field-goal percentage and 91 three-pointers, plus third in the conference with 5.1 assists per game. A 5-11 point guard, Pegram led the PSAC with 63 steals.