By Derek DeBurger
Louisville will stay on the road as they’ll head north to play the Pittsburgh Panthers.
This will be the second matchup of the season with the Panthers to end the season series. Both teams have shown improvement over the Jan. 6 matchup. While the Cards have been steadily finding their rhythm, Pitt has gotten a lot better. Through winning six out of their last seven games, a tournament appearance likely, and being tied with three other teams for fifth place in the ACC standings, Pitt has every reason to win (and win big) against the Cards.
Pitt is heavily reliant on just a handful of players offensively with forward Blake Hinson, and guards Carlton Carrington and Ishmael Leggett scoring 58.4% of the Panthers’ 75.2 points per game. Each player plays at least 68.5% of minutes and has been active on at least 22.9% of possessions. Hinson is the leading scorer with 18.3 points per game and shoots an excellent 41.2% from three. Hinson will likely have a huge game; the Cards are the worst team in the country in terms of giving up wide-open looks from three.
Defensively Pitt has had such a hot streak this season due to their great length causing difficulty shooting threes and racking up blocks. Due to being the eighth-tallest team in the nation and fielding a gritty defense, Pitt is also a good rebounding team, hauling in 38.3 rebounds a game. Louisville has struggled to score on physical teams under head coach Kenny Payne, so expect an ugly affair on Saturday.
While the schedule is much more manageable down the stretch for the Cards, I do not expect Louisville to win.
Although, a win wouldn’t shock me too much.
