The Pitt Panthers return to the friendly confines of the Petersen Events Center for a Saturday high noon tilt against Louisville. Pitt is coming off a tough loss to No. 4 Duke on Tuesday night, and will look to rebound on its home court.
The Cardinals, however, will hardly be an easy bounce back game. Under first year head coach Pat Kelsey, Louisville is making its climb out of the recent doldrums it found itself in as a program. The Cardinals currently stand with an 11-5 record, a 4-1 mark in the ACC, and own a five-game winning streak.
Louisville is back as a threat at the top of the ACC and built a roster directly from the transfer portal. Wisconsin transfer Chucky Hepburn has settled in nicely as the team’s best player. The 6’2” senior point guard is averaging 15.1 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds on the year.
J’Vonne Hadley and Terrence Edwards are a two versatile 6’6” wings that both average double figures. Plus the Cardinals have one of the best sharpshooters in the conference in Reyne Smith, who has 348 career makes from three-point range.
Pitt has owned the recent series against Louisville, with a current five-game winning streak entering today. Of course, it looks like this will be a much stiffer test than the previous two seasons, with Pitt entering the game as a 4.5-point favorite in what should be a highly competitive game.
Can Pitt recover from the Duke loss and also claim an important ACC victory? The Panther-Lair.com staff gives their picks.
Stephen Gertz (12-3, 4-11 ATS) - The Pittsburgh Panthers will be looking to rebound from their blowout loss on the road against the Duke Blue Devils earlier this week. The problem is that the Louisville Cardinals are also one of the better teams in the ACC. A majority of their contributions are from transfers and quite a few are seniors. Louisville is an efficient team on two-pointers but they are not a good three-point shooting team. They also do not defend triples all that well. If Pitts’ guards experience some amount of positive regression that could be an area they exploit. Because this game is at home, I am leaning towards the Panthers. But they cannot afford a slow start and bank on a strong second half. They need to play well all the way through.
Prediction: Pitt 77-71
Jim Hammett (13-2, 7-8 ATS) - Sometimes over the course of a long college basketball regular season, you might get humbled. It can happen to anyone, even No. 1 Tennessee had a clunker earlier this week. For Pitt, it was just one of those nights against one of those teams. I think the key is moving past the Duke loss and not letting it linger. Louisville represents the type of assignment that should get the team’s full attention, which can make the process of getting over a bad loss a little easier. This is a tough matchup and the Cardinals are very much a rejuvenated program right now, but I think Pitt is a good team too. The Panthers have a talented backcourt in Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett and I think those two get back to their usual game in this one and lead Pitt to a solid, yet hard-fought win.
Prediction: Pitt 74-70
Matt Steinbrink (12-3, 4-11 ATS) - This is a great matchup of two teams that appear to be in the second tier of the ACC behind Duke. It is early, but both teams look fully capable of finishing in the top four. Louisville is well tested and has played a strong schedule. They are also hot, beating 3 ACC teams by double digits recently. It is a team that is extremely well coached and plays well together. This game is very close and can go either way. Pitt will need to play well in order to win this one. After getting embarrassed at Duke, I think the Panthers will come out motivated. The slight difference in this one is that the Panthers are at home. It’s a matchup of similar strengths so Lowe and Leggett need to be at their best.
Prediction: Pitt 79-77
Houston Wilson (13-2, 7-8 ATS) - Coming off their most challenging game of the season, Pitt finds itself positioned to claim a crucial ACC victory against Louisville. A fast start will be essential, as slow openings have hampered their rhythm in past games. Pitt is a much deeper team than Louisville which could ultimately be the difference maker in this game. Expect a close one throughout, but look for Pitt's guards to take over late in the game to prevail a Pitt victory.
Prediction: Pitt 79-75
Chris Peak (12-3, 7-8 ATS) - Tuesday night was a really challenging matchup for Pitt, and while Louisville isn’t Duke, the Cardinals are no pushovers. The Cardinals have five losses on the season, but only one of those was in conference play - a 21-point loss to Duke last month. The early returns on Pat Kelsey are very encouraging, as the former College of Charleston coach seems to have breathed new life into the program after the the doldrums of the Kenny Payne era. Senior point guard Chucky Hepburn is the big matchup, but having Damian Dunn back will help with that challenge. Pitt will also have to watch Reyne Smith on the perimeter, as the senior guard leads the ACC with 54 made three-pointers. This one will really be about the Panthers and how they bounce back from a 29-point loss. I’m optimistic about it. I think Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett will get something of a reset after their struggles in Durham, and I expect them to both play at a high level while setting up their teammates for open looks from three - where Louisville hasn’t been great defensively.
Prediction: Pitt 80-74
