Pitt at Louisville Live Feed: Panthers Ride Bench Scoring to Road Win

Nike Sibande and Greg Elliot’s 35 combined points powered the Pitt Panthers to an easy win at Louisville.

PITTSBURGH -- After the first seven minutes of play, Louisville held a 14-10 lead over the Pitt Panthers. Then the reasons why they entered this game 2-16 on the year reared their ugly heads.

Pitt got fantastic contributions from their bench, moved the ball well and played opportunistic defense, but their 21-point win over the Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center had just as much to do with how bad Louisville is as how good Pitt is. Either way, the Panthers will return to Pittsburgh as winners of their fourth ACC road game of the year after downing Louisville.

Matchup: Pitt at Louisville
Time: 7:00 P.M. ET
Where: KFC Yum! Center
How to Watch: ACC Network
How to Listen: 93.7 The Fan

Live Game Chat

Come chat with our Inside the Panthers team. Stephen Thompson will share their thoughts and news, and any highlights from the game. Tweet at us at @InsidePitt to have your thoughts and reactions shared in the feed.

Stephen: Final: Pitt 75, Louisville 54.

The Panthers were simply the better team. I could try to muster some more detailed analysis, but it the opposing records - 2-17 for Louisville and 13-6 for Pitt - tell you all you need to know.

Pitt did not play their best game. They rebounded poorly and two of their best players combined for just three made field goals and four fouls. Still, the Panthers won by capitalizing on their opponents’ mistakes - to the tune of 25 points off 17 Louisville turnovers - and will head back to Pittsburgh back on track after winning two in a row following two straight losses. 

Stephen: The Panthers were up by as many as 16 and have continued to keep the Cardinals at arm's length. They lead by 13 with under four minutes to go in this one. 

Blake Hinson finally made a shot from the floor but he has just five points on 1-9 shooting from the field. For all that's gone right tonight, his relative cold streak - Hinson has made just 18 of his last 69 shots - is confounding and troubling. The Panthers won't be able to survive off nights like this from him against better competition. 

Stephen: Pitt extended their lead to 14 - their largest of the night - with 8:55 left in the game and maintained that lead through the under-eight media timeout. 

Jamarius Burton has taken over in the most subtle way possible. He's only scored 10 points but dished out eight assists and grabbed three steals too. On a night when the team's leading assister and scorer just don't have it, Burton's been crucial to getting others involved. 

Stephen: The Cardinals cut their deficit to as little as six but the Panthers have responded every time their opponents have clawed within reach. Two Burton scores and an Elliot triple have the Panthers back up 12 with 12:17 to play. 

Stephen: Louisville used a 5-0 burst to cut the deficit to seven less than three minutes deep into the second half, but Elliot knocked down a corner 3-pointer to put the Panthers back up double digits. 

Elliot appears to have broken out of a short slump in which he was shooting less than 30% from distance. He's made a couple of triples tonight and has tied the game lead in points with 12 on 5-6 shooting from the field.  

Stephen: Halftime: Pitt 35, Louisville 26.

Pitt trailed by four with 13:11 left but outscored the Cardinals 27-14 for the rest of the period to take a nine-point lead into halftime.

Things looked dicey midway through the first half but the Panthers retook control largely thanks to their bench. Pitt’s three bench players have scored 20 of the team’s 17 points on a combined 7-10 shooting from the field.

Pitt could still afford to clean up the rebounding - Louisville owns a 20-15 advantage on the glass and a 10-0 lead in second-chance points - but their 16-2 edge in points off turnovers has covered for that deficiency. 

Stephen: Guillermo Diaz-Graham is a perfect 2-2 from the field with four rebounds and a block in eight minutes of action. He's been a part of that bench unit for Pitt that's been fantastic so far tonight. 

Louisville owns a 10-0 advantage in second-chance points but the Panthers' 16 points off turnovers has neutralized that advantage. 

Stephen: Pitt is on a 17-2 run over the last 3:43 and has taken an 11-point lead into the under-eight media timeout. Sibande has knocked down three 3-pointers during the run. The Panthers have gotten 18 points from their bench so far. Louisville hasn't scored in nearly three minutes. 

Stephen: The bench has come up big to halt Louisville's 7-0 run. Nike Sibande hit three triples to make himself the leading scorer with nine points and Guillermo Diaz-Graham forced a turnover on the other end and then hit a 3-pointer of his own. 

Pitt has taken a 22-16 lead and forced Louisville to call a timeout with 9:15 to go until halftime. 

Stephen: Louisville is on a 7-0 run and leads 14-10 with 11:48 to play in the first half. The Cardinals have been able to run in transition and score off second chances. Pitt hasn't scored in 3:35 and has more turnovers through eight minutes tonight (four) than they had in 40 minutes against Georgia Tech (three).

Hinson also picked up his second foul - both offensive - right before the under-12 media timeout. 

Stephen: The Panthers missed their first five shots and fell behind 5-2 early, but retook the lead at 7-5 behind a triple from Elliot, who had made just 25% of his 3-point attempts over the past six games. Pitt has scored five points off Louisville turnovers.  

Stephen: Waiting for the starting lineups to be announced has become a formality for Pitt at this season. The same starting five that has opened 15 of the Panthers' 18 games - Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliot, Jamarius Burton, Blake Hinson and Fede Federiko - will start against Louisville.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals will send El Ellis, Mike James, Sydney Curry, Kamari Lands and Jae'Lyn Withers to the floor first. 

Stephen: 

For the second game in a row, Louisville forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield isn't out with the team during pregame shoot-around. Looks like he might miss tonight's game vs. Pitt.

— Matt McGavic (@Matt_McGavic) January 18, 2023

Stephen: The Cardinals have continued losing as of late, but they've been more competitive in their last three contests against Syracuse, Wake Forest, Clemson and North Carolina and redshirt freshman Michael James has been a huge part of that. The former top-100 recruit is averaging 17 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from 3-point range and 48.9% from inside the arc over his past four contests. 

He's a tough cover at 6'6 and 195 pounds with the skills to score from all over the floor. I'd assume either Jamarius Burton or Blake Hinson get the first crack at guarding him. Their length will be key to running him off the perimeter and into the teeth of Pitt's interior defense. 

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