After playing four games in eight days, Louisville will have six days off following Sunday’s game at Pitt.
Louisville Cardinals (17-8, 7-5) At Pittsburgh Panthers (8-17, 0-12)
Game Time: 1:06 p.m.
Location: Peterson Events Center: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Television: ACC Network/WAVE-3 in Louisville
Announcers: Wes Durham (play-by-play) and Bobby Cremins (analyst)
Officials: Lee Cassell, Clarence Armstrong, Tony Chiazza
About Pitt:
They’re bad. If they beat Louisville, it would be really bad.
The team’s leading scorer remains junior guard Jared Wilson-Frame, who is averaging 12.8 ppg but hasn’t shot better than 50 percent from the field in a game since Jan. 24. Ryan Luther, who was averaging a double-double through the season’s first 10 games, is out for the year with a foot injury. Freshman guard Parker Stewart led three Panthers in double figures with 12 points the first time these two teams met.
Pitt ranks 342nd out of 351 Division-I teams in points per game (63.1 ppg), and 321st in rebounding (32.4 rpg). The Panthers currently rank 210th in Ken Pom, one spot ahead of the St. Francis (PA) team Louisville faced on Nov. 24. Pitt hasn’t won a game since beating Towson 63-59 on Dec. 22.
Notable:
—Sunday’s game marks the end of a stretch where Louisville will have played four games in eight days. The Cardinals will now have six days off before hosting North Carolina next Saturday.
—Louisville has won 11 straight games against Pitt, its second longest streak against an ACC/Power 5 opponent. U of L has defeated Virginia Tech 13 straight times.
—Louisville is third in the nation in blocked shots (6.6 bpg) and ranks 19th in field goal percentage defense (.399) and 43rd in steals per game (7.6).
—Anas Mahmoud is seventh in the nation in blocked shots (3.12) and Ray Spalding is 23rd in offensive rebounds (3.32).
—Pitt has used 15 different starting lineups this season, tied for the third most in the NCAA. Freshmen have combined to make 78 starts on the year.
—Pitt’s current 12-game losing streak is the longest in program history.
—Pitt has dropped 16 consecutive ACC regular season contests. The Panthers last regular season conference win was an 80-66 decision over No. 17 Florida State Feb. 18, 2017.
—Louisville has held seven of its 12 ACC opponents to 40 percent or below shooting from the field. U of L limited Georgia Tech to 36.4 percent shooting after it previous three opponents had shot a collective 48.5 percent from the field. The Cards have collected nine or more steals in seven league games (season high 15 vs. Georgia Tech).
—Louisville has a 30-19 record in its conference road games over the last six years (.612). U of L has the fifth-most conference road wins in its four years in the ACC with 16.
—Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 15 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga).
—Louisville is 6-1 all-time at the Petersen Events Center.
—In last year’s game at Pitt, Louisville posted the largest margin of victory for a road team in ACC history and the third-largest margin for any league game in their 106-51 victory.
—Louisville has blocked a shot in 258 consecutive games dating back to 2011. Anas Mahmoud has blocked a shot in 77 career games and is fourth in career blocked shots (191).
—Louisville has a 58-20 record during the month of February over the last 10 years (.744), winning 23 of its last 34 in that month (5-2 last year).
Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 72, Pittsburgh 62
