The Louisville Cardinals will take on the Pitt Panthers today in the KFC Yum! Center, and both teams will be looking for their first ACC win.
Louisville comes in at 5-8 (0-2) and are losers of 5 of their last 6 games, with their only win being against Pepperdine. While Pitt is 9-5 (0-3) and is looking to gain some momentum before taking on #14 Duke on Tuesday night.
Pitt has lost their last 2 games on the road against Syracuse (81-73), and to #8 North Carolina at home (70-57). They led by as many as 11 in the 2nd half against Syracuse, but the Orange rallied in the 2nd half by scoring 51 points and coming back against Pitt. In the UNC game, Pitt seemed to not be able to capitalize early. UNC started the game 0-10 on field goals, but the Panthers could only get a lead of 6-0 to start the game.
Louisville will need to be ready to play on both sides of the ball against Pitt, as they will play physically and make you work for your shots, and wear you down as the game goes on. Getting an ACC win for Kenny Payne and Louisville would also be very beneficial for his tenure with the Cardinals.
How Can I Watch/Listen To Louisville vs. Pitt?
- Date: Wednesday, January 6th
- Time: 12:00 PM
- Venue: KFC Yum! Center
- TV/Streaming: CW Network
- Radio: 93.9 The Ville
What Are The Betting Odds For Louisville vs. Pitt?
As I currently write this article Louisville is a -8.5 point underdog against Pitt, with the over/under being 143.5. Louisville is also +340 on the moneyline, while Virginia is -425 on the moneyline.
What Injuries Are Louisville Dealing With?
Tre White and JJ Traynor are looking like they will be unlikely to play against Pitt today, as head coach Kenny Payne says they are "day to day". News broke out the other day that Dennis Evans would be out for the rest of the season, which seriously diminishes Louisville's size and center depth for the season. Having Traynor or White would help in this game, but it is looking like it is improbable that either of them will play.
Final Score Prediction For Louisville vs. Virginia:
Just like Virginia, Pitt has been struggling in the past week, but a get-right game against Louisville seems to be what has been happening to this team as of late. Pitt is very stout defensively and the offensive game plan of shooting threes and getting fouled to shoot free throws doesn't seem to be working in the past month as well as it did against Pepperdine and UMBC.
Louisville is only an 8.5-point underdog in this game, and I still can't seem to figure out why. Pitt has been playing underwhelming basketball in the past week but I can't see them losing this game or letting it be too close for that matter. Especially when looking at what the Cardinals have been as of late.
Just like most Louisville basketball games, I expect them to start well but to eventually just play worse and worse as the game goes on. Pitt may not capitalize early, and if Louisville can get up early somehow on Pitt's mistakes then they have a shot. But even that shot is very low.
But with this game being on the CW Network nearly anything imaginable could happen.
I expect the Cards to play well early, but Pitt should pull away in the 2nd half.