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The Pittsburgh Panthers (12-5, 5-2 ACC) will play against the Louisville Cardinals (2-16, 0-7 ACC) on Wednesday.
Last season, these teams faced off twice, with the Panthers covering the spread in both contests despite being underdogs.
Pittsburgh vs Louisville Betting Odds
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Pittsburgh vs Louisville Match Details
Fixture: Pittsburgh Panthers at Louisville Cardinals
Date and Time: Wednesday, January 18 at 7:00 PM ET
Venue: KFC Yum! Center, Kentucky
Pittsburgh vs Louisville Key Stats
In order for the Panthers to have a shot at competing in the NCAA Tournament, they will need to pick up more road victories (4-2) and superior victories. To their credit, they have victories over Duke and North Carolina at home.
Their star player, Burton, who has played for Texas Tech and Wichita State, has been a beneficial addition to the roster. On 53.4% shooting (41.9% three-pointers), he leads the squad with 16.7 ppg and 4.0 assists.
The Panthers score 74.6 points per game on 44.6% of their shots, including 33.8% from beyond the arc. They concede 68.2 points per contest on 40.8% shooting (30.8% from 3-point range). Turnovers are the team's main problem right now. Their turnover margin of -2.97 and assist/turnover ratio of 0.81 places them 15th and last in the ACC rankings, respectively.
Against North Carolina, the Cardinals only managed a 37% field goal percentage and 7% (1-of-14) from beyond the arc. They are making just 31.8% of their three-point attempts and shooting just 40.7% from the field overall. With 62.8 points scored per game, they are 347th. In the Atlantic Coast Conference, they are also ranked 14th in the assist-to-turnover ratio.
In addition, they are the worst in the ACC in three-point shooting (67.3%), free-throw shooting (67.4%), and three-point defense. The only other player to score more than 10 points per game is senior guard El Ellis, who averages 17.7 points on 38.8% shooting (32.7% from 3-point range) and 4.7 assists.
Pittsburgh vs Louisville Betting Prediction
Due to the fact that they were playing better basketball prior to that loss, I believe the Cardinals will recover from their disastrous performance against UNC last Saturday. Before Saturday's blowout loss, they had covered their previous three games and were 4-0-1 against the spread in their previous five contests.
This is a novel experience for the Panthers, who haven't historically been strong ACC favorites. They have only lost by one digit in four of their five victories. This game will feature a much more intense level of competition from the Cardinals, and it might be a close one.
Pick: Louisville Cardinals +9.5 (-110)
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