Pitt vs Louisville: Keep It Rolling
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are back at home in the friendly confines of the Petersen Events Center to host Louisville this weekend.
The Panthers are heating up right as the race for a spot in the 2024 NCAA Tournament does and they need a win to keep themselves on the right path towards the postseason.
Game Info
Opponent: Louisville (8-17 overall, 3-11 ACC)
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Location: Petersen Events Center; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Broadcast: ACC Network and 93.7 The Fan
Odds
Pitt is a 12.5-point favorite over the Cardinals, according to Action Network, with moneyline odds of -1000 to +640 for Louisville. The point total line has been set at 149.
Three Storylines
Lowly Louisville
This Cardinals team is a slight improvement on their infamously poor 4-28 squad from a year ago. The 2023 team won just four games, the program's fewest since the 1940-41 season, and the 2024 squad has already won eight but it's hard to call that a meaningful improvement.
KenPom lists a variety of advanced and basic statistics on their team page - about 40 different ones in all. The Cardinals rank among the top 100 in all of Division I in only a handful of them - average tempo, field goal attempt to free throw attempt ratio, free throw rate, non-steal turnover forced percentage, tempo and average defensive possession length. Their strength of schedule is the 57th-best in America but that hasn't done much for their NCAA Tournament resume at this point in the season.
The Cardinals don't defend well, play offense slightly better and have shown routine signs of dysfunction on and off the court. Not only is this a game Pitt should win, but it would be massively embarrassing to drop. Forget about how it could affect any postseason opportunities the Panthers might have - it would cause some existential dread if a Pitt team rolling to this extent could drop a home game to a Louisville team this bad.
Find Shooters
Pitt won their first meeting with the Cardinals in Louisville, Kentucky fairly handily, by a final score of 83-70. But a good chunk of that game was closer than the final score would indicate thanks in large part to the hot shooting of Mike James and Curtis Williams. James nailed five of his seven total 3-point attempts and scored 23 points while Williams hit two of five triples and scored 11 points.
Pitt has been one of the better 3-point defenses in America - 25th best in Division I, according to KenPom. The Panthers are as locked in as they've been all season and they'll want to keep that up against the Cardinals if they hope to make this game the laugher it should be quickly.
Panthers Ready to Burst the Bubble
Pitt is one of the hottest teams in the ACC and America, quite frankly. After winning six of their last seven games - including marquee wins over Duke and Virginia - they're right on the verge of earning a second trip to the NCAA Tournament in as many years if they can finish strong.
Everyone from The Athletic to Fox Sports, CBS and ESPN has the Panthers as one of the "Next Four Out" in their current projected field of 68 teams. They have a couple of chances to earn more impressive wins when they travel to meet Wake Forest and Clemson over their final seven games before the regular season, but avoiding a foul up against Louisville is just as, if not more, crucial.
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