Pittsburgh
vs.
Louisville
College Basketball
Pick with Analysis
2/11/15
Louisville is looking to get back on track, while Pittsburgh enters a stretch of Games against three of the best teams in the ACC. The Cardinals won this matchup 80-68 when they met at the end of January.
Things may be a little different this time around, though. The Panthers have stepped up their Game and have now won three straight, two of those against Notre Dame and Syracuse. The question is whether they can bring that type of play on the road. So far, Pittsburgh has lost to teams like Virginia Tech, NC State and Hawaii on the road. In fact, their only true road win all year was an overtime Game at Boston College.
The Cardinals are back at home after travelling to Miami and Virginia. They were left confused and distraught after losing to Virginia over the weekend as they struggled on offense and only forced the Cavaliers into two turnovers. After its three previous losses, Louisville has won the following Game by double-digits, one of those being at Pitt.
For Pittsburgh to compete more in this Game, they’ll need to limit turnovers, much like Virginia. The Panthers are actually one of the best teams in the nation at not turning it over, but gave the ball up 12 times in the last Louisville meeting. If that’s the case again, expect to see another double-digit win for the Cardinals.
Pittsburgh has won their last few Games on the offensive end. They outscored Notre Dame, one of the most efficient offenses in the country, and then dropped 83 points on Syracuse. In those two wins, the Panthers finished with 46 assists as a team. Now, they’ll have to figure out how to deal with the pressure of Louisville, which is never easy. It starts in the backcOurt with James Robinson and Cameron Wright. Those guys have to work together to not let the Louisville pressure get to them.
In addition to that, Pittsburgh will have to be better defensively than they have in recent Games. In the first meeting, Terry Rozier and Chris Jones combined for 43 points and 15 assists, which is about all the Cardinals needed. Montrezl Harrell had 18 and 7 himself, and didn’t have much trouble on offense dealing with Pittsburgh’s bigs.
Coming off a loss and back at home for Louisville, there won’t be many people putting money on Pittsburgh. But still, the Cardinals aren’t invisible at home. They needed overtime vs. UNC and lost to Duke the last couple Games, and going back further only beat Clemson by six points.
To keep this Game close, it will start with Pittsburgh not turning the ball over and playing better defensively than in the first matchup. The Panthers have looked improved on the offensive end in recent Games, which could give them a boost in this matchup and maybe allow them to cover at the least.
Our Prediction – Louisville by 11