Coming off the biggest win of the young season, Louisville basketball set for second ACC game of the year as the Pittsburgh Panthers come to town for a late-night showdown on Friday night.
ACC games are not always a walk in the park, and Chris Mack is certainly preaching to the No. 1 ranked Louisville basketball program ahead of their second conference clash of the year.
They are hosting an underrated Pittsburgh team on Friday night, and the Cards are hoping to avoid a hangover after their huge win on Tuesday night. They set the city on fire when they dominated the fourth-ranked Michigan Wolverines on national television in a 58-43 win.
The Cards played their most complete game of the season, and the game never really looked like it was in doubt for the team. They overpowered Michigan with their defensive tenacity, and this helped them overcome what was an uncharacteristic performance for the team on the offensive end.
As they spend the next few days preparing for a tough conference opponent, the Cards should not be overlooking the Panthers. Pittsburgh is 7-2 thus far in 2019, and they won their only conference game at home against the 17th ranked Florida State Seminoles on opening night.
Pittsburgh should be 8-1, but they fell victim to the classic underdog mid-major home upset as Nicholls State defeated them 75-70 three days after their win over FSU. They also lost a home game to the West Virginia Mountaineers, who are one of the few remaining undefeated teams in the country.
Outside of that, Pittsburgh has played some decent competition, including three Power Five programs in their last three games. The Panthers have swept through them as well, defeating Kansas State and Northwestern in Fort Myers before defeating Rutgers at home in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Needing more quality wins, Pittsburgh could benefit massively from a road win against the top-ranked Cardinals.
They’re a solid basketball team, but they’re relatively young. They have an average experience of 1.1 years as a team, according to Sports Reference. However, 63.3 percent of their scoring returns from last season. Last season, Louisville lost to Pittsburgh on the road in overtime but did split the series with a home victory. The Panthers were 14-19 last season and only won three ACC games, finishing 14th in the conference.
Now in his second year in Pittsburgh, head coach Jeff Capel is still in the midst of rebuilding a program that was driven into the ground by the infamous Kevin Stallings. The former Duke assistant has put together a quality roster that will certainly challenge for 8 or 9 wins in the conference this season. The Panthers have four players who are scoring in double-figures, including Trey McGowens, Ryan Murphy, Xavier Johnson, and Justin Champagnie.
Cardinals fans should have a fond memory of McGowens, as he poured in a career-high 33 points in the Pittsburgh win over Louisville last year. Xavier Johnson scored 21 points in that game as well. Murphy actually sat out last season, as he transferred to Pittsburgh after his freshman season at Charlotte. Champagnie is a freshman who has earned a massive role in Capel’s offense. He was a three-star recruit who barely cracked the top 250 players in most rankings, and he wasn’t even one of the team’s top two ranked recruits.
Capel also welcomed in a four-star recruit in Gerald Drumgoole, who was the 117th best player in the recruiting class. Three-star recruit Karim Coulibaly also joined the Panthers roster, but he was barely amongst the top 250 as well. The Panthers play about nine players per game, and that should give you an idea of how far Capel is willing to go with his bench unit.
According to KenPom, the Panthers are the 72nd best team in the nation. He ranks them as the 90th best team in terms of adjusted offensive efficiency, as well as being the 57th best squad in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Cardinals are the top team in the nation in the KenPom, with the third-best adjusted offensive efficiency and fourth-best adjusted defensive efficiency in the country. It should be a better challenge compared to some of Louisville’s opponents earlier this season, but the Cards should be confident in themselves after the Michigan game.
The defensive performance was a massive plus against the Wolverines, but the offense has been struggling in the last few games. They will look to play better on the offensive end of the floor against Pittsburgh, and they are certainly capable of doing so. With that in mind, let’s take a look at everything you need to know ahead of the game.
Who: #1 Louisville Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Panthers
Where: KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Kentucky)
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, December 6th
Tickets: As low as $9 per StubHub.com
Spread check (Courtesy of Action Network): Louisville -14.5
Previous Meeting and Series: Louisville defeated Pittsburgh 66-51 on January 26th, 2019. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 17-6.
How To Watch: ACC Network.
How To Listen: WHAS 840 AM.
Projected Starters:
Louisville:
G, Darius Perry, #2, Jr.
6-2, 195 Pounds
6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists
G, Ryan McMahon, #30, Sr.
6-0, 180 Pounds
10.1 points, 0.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists
F, Jordan Nwora, #33, Jr.
6-7, 225 Pounds
21.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists
F, Dwayne Sutton, #24, Sr.
6-5, 215 Pounds
10.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists
C, Steven Enoch, #23, Sr.
6-10, 260 Pounds
11.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists
Pittsburgh
G, Trey McGowens, #2, So.
6-3, 185 Pounds
12.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists
G, Ryan Murphy, #24, Jr.
6-2, 192 Pounds
11.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists
G, Xavier Johnson, #1, So.
6-3, 190 Pounds
11.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists
G, Justin Champagnie, #11, Fr.
6-6, 200 Pounds
10.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.4 assists
F, Eric Hamilton, #0, Sr.
6-9, 250 Pounds
6.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 0.2 assists