Pitt will open 2019-20 ACC schedule Nov. 6 against Florida State at the Pete

The ACC’s move from an 18- to a 20-game conference schedule means games that matter most occur sooner next season, and that includes Pitt’s 2019-2020 opener Nov. 6 against Florida State at Petersen Events Center.

The date is nearly two months earlier than the opening to the 2019 conference schedule when Pitt played North Carolina on Jan. 5.

Overall, the ACC will open up with seven conference games Nov. 5 and 6 to start the season.

“To be able to open the season with a round of conference games makes it truly unique,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. “We believe it will be a great way to tipoff another outstanding season of ACC basketball.”

Of course, the games will be televised, with four of them on the ACC Network that will launch Aug. 22. The games are Louisville at Miami and Georgia Tech at N.C. State (Nov. 5); Notre Dame at North Carolina and Virginia at Syracuse (Nov. 6).

Pitt’s game will be on either ESPN2 or ESPNU, along with Virginia Tech at Clemson (Nov. 5) and Wake Forest at Boston College (Nov. 6).

The remainder of Pitt’s ACC schedule includes another against Florida State and two each against Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina and Syracuse. The Panthers also will play Boston College, Clemson, Virginia and Wake Forest at home and Duke, N.C. State, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech on the road.

The complete ACC schedule with dates and times will be released in late August.

The early game against Florida State might be Pitt’s most high-profile opener since the first game at freshly constructed Petersen Events Center when the Panthers played Duquesne in a non-conference game to start the 2002-2003 season.