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Louisville Basketball: 5 Reasons Why The Cards Can Beat Pittsburgh

By Derek Snyder

Jan 7, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts to a play as Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets center Ben Lammers (44) runs up court in the second half of their game at McCamish Pavilion. The Cardinals won 65-50. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts to a play as Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets center Ben Lammers (44) runs up court in the second half of their game at McCamish Pavilion. The Cardinals won 65-50. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /
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We take a look at five reasons why the Louisville basketball team can beat the Pittsburgh Panthers on Wednesday evening in the Yum Center.

The Louisville basketball team was able to get their first conference win of the season against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets last weekend. It was extremely refreshing to see the Cards not have to play a top 25 opponent, but that won’t last long as they will have to play the Duke Blue Devils later in the week.

With that being said, Louisville has business to take care of before they go up against the Blue Devils. Pittsburgh is coming into the Yum Center with a 12-4 record, but just like the Cards, have a 1-2 record in ACC play.

Here are five reasons why the Cardinals can beat Pittsburgh on Wednesday night and improve to .500 in conference play after four games.

Jan 7, 2017; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Tyler Lydon (20) dunks the ball between Pittsburgh Panthers forward Jamel Artis (1) and guard Damon Wilson (3) during the second half at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse won 77-66. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2017; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Tyler Lydon (20) dunks the ball between Pittsburgh Panthers forward Jamel Artis (1) and guard Damon Wilson (3) during the second half at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse won 77-66. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /

5. The Difference On Defense

There is an extremely large difference between these two teams on the defensive side of the basketball. Louisville is currently third in the conference in points give up per game, whereas the Panthers are are second to last. Not to mention, that is just one example of how much better the Cards’ defense is this season.

As you can imagine, the Cards are at the top of the conference in defensive field goal percentage and Pittsburgh is second to last again. Those two stats go hand in hand and show us why this will be a game where the Cards will have an easier time scoring than the Panthers.

With that being said, I think the biggest difference between these two teams is Louisville’s ability to force steals. The Cardinals are averaging 7.1 per game, and yet, Pittsburgh is dead last in the ACC only forcing 3.5 per game.

Next: Number Four

This is probably the least intimidating defensive basketball team Louisville will face for a few more weeks.

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