Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Pitt Panthers

Louisville Cardinals (3-20, 1-11 ACC) at Pitt Panthers (16-7, 9-3 ACC)

- Tipoff: Tuesday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Pitt: -19.0 (KenPom)
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 21-8
- Last Meeting: Pitt won 75-54 on Jan. 18, 2023 (KFC Yum! Center - Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

G El Ellis (6-3, 180, Sr.)
G/F Mike James (6-5, 215, R-Fr.)
F J.J. Traynor (6-8, 190, Jr.)
F Jae'Lyn Withers (6-9, 220, R-Jr.)
F Sydney Curry (6-8, 270, Sr.)

Pitt

G Nelly Cummings (6-0, 185, Gr.)
G Greg Elliott (6-3, 180, Gr.)
G Jamarius Burton (6-4, 200, Gr.)
F Blake Hinson (6-7, 235, Jr.)
C Federiko Federiko (6-11, 220, Fr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Panthers, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Pitt

Game Notes

Louisville

Louisville is facing Pitt in a rematch of a game played earlier this season at the KFC Yum! Center on Jan. 18, 2023. The Cardinals fell 75-54 to the Panthers in what was their eighth 20-point loss of the season.
Last game: Louisville lost 81-78 to Florida State, nearly overcoming a 17-point deficit.
KEY FIRST HALF RUN: Florida State went on an 11-1 run early in the game to open a 16-5 advantage at the 16:05 mark. After falling behind 40-29 with just under 3:30 to play in the half, the Cardinals went on a 5-0 scoring run to cut the deficit to six off a jumper from Kamari Lands. The Seminoles built the lead back to 45-36 at the break.
KEY SECOND HALF RUN: Trailing 53-36 with 17:47 left in the game and still by 15 with 9:12 to play, the Cardinals surged back with a 17-2 run that ended on a lob dunk to junior forward JJ Traynor to tie it at 74-all with 2:09 on the clock.
UofL shot 29 of 62 (.468) from the field, 10 of 28 (.357) from 3-point range, and 10 of 11 (.909) from the free-throw line. The free throw percentage was the highest mark since going 19-20 (95%) on December 14th against Western Kentucky.
The Cardinals out-rebounded Florida State 35-32, marking the third straight time the Cardinals have out-rebounded their opponent this season.
Jae'Lyn Withers finished with 14 points and four rebounds in 33 minutes of action. This is his second straight game making four or more 3s in a game.
El Ellis finished with 22 points, marking the 19th time this season he has scored in double figures and his ninth game scoring 20 or more this season. The guard has now dished out seven assists or more in five games this season.
Kamari Lands poured in 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field, tying his career high for scoring.
The Cardinals are about to embark on an eight-game stretch to end the regular season that will see them play seven games against teams in the top 65 of the NET Rankings. Their next five opponents have an average NET Ranking of 40.
Over the last 14 games, senior guard El Ellis has averaged 18.3 points, 5.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals. As of Sunday, Ellis was one of 18 players in the nation with at least 395 points and 110 assists this season. After having a positive or even assist-to-turnover ratio just three times in the first nine games of the season, Ellis has been positive or even in 12 of the last 14 games. In his last nine games since 2023 began, he has 53 assists against just 29 turnovers.
In last week’s 1-1 split vs. Georgia Tech and Florida State, redshirt junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while making 8 of 12 3-pointers. Over the last nine games since 2023 began, Withers is averaging 11.9 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 20 of 40 (50%) from beyond the arc.
On Jan. 19, Louisville added freshman forward/center Emmanuel Okorafor to the roster. Okorafor is a 6-foot-9 native of Lagos, Nigeria, and is eligible immediately after arriving from NBA Academy Africa. He made his college debut Jan. 28 at Notre Dame with eight points, five rebounds and one block in 18 reserve minutes.
Over the last nine games since turning to 2023, redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James is averaging 12.9 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 45% from the field and 42% from the 3-point line. In the first 14 games of the year, James averaged just 6.9 points while shooting 44% overall and 31% from 3-point range.

Pitt

The Panthers are looking for their first 10+ win season in the ACC since going 11-7 in league play in 2013-14. Pitt enters Tuesday’s contest just a half game behind conference leader Clemson.
Pitt has won five of its past six games overall, including a 75-54 victory over the Cardinals at the KFC YUM! Center Jan. 18.
Pitt’s eight Quad 1/2 wins are the most in the ACC. The Panthers are 4-2 in Quad 1 games with wins at Northwestern, at NC State, at North Carolina and against Virginia. Pitt also has Quad 2 wins over ACC opponents Miami, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and at Syracuse.
Jamarius Burton is averaging 18.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in conference play. He is shooting 49.7 percent (82-of-165) from the fi eld and 91.8 percent (45-of-49) from the foul line in ACC play. He has scored 15 or more points in nine of 12 league games.
Blake Hinson has posted 20 double-figure scoring games, including 13 games with 15 or more points and six 20+ point games. He is one of two players in the ACC averaging 15.5 or more points (15.8 ppg.) and 6.0 or more rebounds per game (6.5 rpg.) with 50 or more three-point field goals (57 3FG).
Nelly Cummings is averaging 13.7 points and 3.0 threes per game, while going 9-of-16 (.563) from three-point range during Pitt’s current three-game win streak.
Pitt has won 15 of its past 19 games with its 15 wins since Nov. 20 tied for 19th most (tied for 9th most among power conference teams) in the NCAA in that span.
Pitt is tied for 14th in the NCAA with a combined eight Quad 1 and Quad 2 victories. The Panthers four Quad 1 wins is second most in the ACC and tied for 16th most in the NCAA.
The Panthers’ backcourt quartet of Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, and Nike Sibande has combined for 5,320 points in 13,881 minutes over 534 career games. Pitt is one of four programs (along with UAB, Chattanooga, and Texas) in the NCAA with four or more players with 130+ games played.
Pitt is tied for second in the ACC in three-point field goals (9.04 3pg.) with Blake Hinson (2.48 3pg. - 6th) and Greg Elliott (2.22 3pg. - 12th) both ranking among the league leaders in threes per game. A year ago, the Panthers were 14th in the ACC at just 5.38 three-point fi eld goals per game.
The Panthers and NC State are the only teams in the ACC with two players with 50 or more threes on the season. Blake Hinson (57) and Greg Elliott (51) each have 50 or more made threes while Nelly Cummings has 41 three-point fi eld goals. The transfer trio is the eighth threesome at Pitt to each make 40 or more threes in a season.
The Panthers have had a 20+ point scorer in six consecutive games with five different players scoring 20 or more points and leading the team in scoring in that span. Pitt is 12-3 on the season when having a 20+ point scorer.
Jamarius Burton is one of three players in the NCAA averaging at least 16.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, while shooting over 50 percent from the fi eld. He is looking to become just the fourth player in program history to average 15+ points, 4+ rebounds, and 4+ assists per game for a season.
Blake Hinson leads the Panthers in rebounds (6.5 rpg.), double-doubles (4), double-figure scoring games (20), 20+ point games (6), and three-point fi eld goals (57), while ranking second in scoring (15.8 ppg.). He is looking to become the first Panther since Sam Young (2008-09) to average better than 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while making 50 or more threes in a season.
Federiko Federiko is shooting a team-high 65.2 percent (60-of-92) from the fi eld, while also leading the Panthers in offensive rebounds (56), blocks (42), and dunks (24).
Nelly Cummings is tied for eighth in the ACC in assists (4.4 apg.) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.17:1). Pitt is 10-2 on the season when he records five or more assists in a game.
The Panthers’ starting backcourt of Nelly Cummings and Jamarius Burton has combined for 2,701 points, 781 rebounds, 742 assists, and 227 steals in 273 career games. The tandem is combining to average 26.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game.
Federiko Federiko is contributing 9.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per 40 minutes played. He has played 20 or more minutes in a game 16 times, including each of the past 13 games.
Nike Sibande has been Pitt’s first sub in every game (22) he hasn’t started this season. He has scored in double figures 10 times and is averaging 13.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.86assists per 40 minutes played. Sibande made four consecutive three-point attempts in the first half of Pitt’s win at Louisville in January.
Greg Elliott is shooting a team-high 40.8 percent (51-of-125) from three-point range, fifth best in the ACC among players with 2.0 made threes per game. He scored a season-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the fi eld and 5-of8 from three-point range in the first meeting with Louisville this season.

(Photo of El Ellis: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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