By Derek DeBurger
No. 15 Louisville will get a slight break when they hit the road to play the Pittsburgh Panthers.
Pitt is one of three remaining ACC teams without a conference win. Their 0-3 ACC record is due to a close loss to Notre Dame and two double-digit losses.
If you guessed that the Panthers have had trouble doing pretty much anything on the court, you’d be correct. The Panthers’ offense averages 66.2 points per game with only one or two real scoring options. At 20.3 points per game, Liatu King is the first, second, and third option for the Panthers; it’s the 18th-best mark in the country and almost double the next closest player on her team. Outside of King and Aislin Malcolm—Pitt’s second-leading scorer—there are no other double-digit scorers.
Pitt passes the ball well, but they turn it over more than they score off of assists. A team that ratchets up the pressure like Louisville could get them out of sorts for a full 40 minutes.
Defensively, Pitt doesn’t offer much. The Panthers rank 238th in the country in scoring defense, and they average a very mediocre 4.8 blocks and 6.6 steals per game.
Outside of King—who leads her team in points, rebounds, steals, blocks, and shooting percentage—Pitt is a very unimpressive team. Louisville should have no trouble putting the Panthers away early, but they can’t overlook them. The Panthers are significantly better at home than on the road.
If Louisville plays hard and takes Pitt seriously, I don’t see any reason they shouldn’t come away with the win.
