Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Pitt Panthers

The Cardinals head to the Steel City for a massive showdown with the Panthers.

Jan 1, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Chucky Hepburn (24) dribbles against North Carolina Tar Heels guard Drake Powell (9) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Louisville Cardinals (11-5, 4-1 ACC) at Pitt Panthers (12-3, 3-1 ACC)

- Tipoff: Tuesday, January 11 at 12:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
- How To Watch: ESPN2
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Pitt -5.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 21-11
- Last Meeting: Pitt won 86-59 on Feb. 17, 2024 (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 190, Sr.)
• G J'Vonne Hadley (6-6, 215, 5th)
• G/F Terrence Edwards Jr. (6-6, 205, 5th)
• F Noah Waterman (6-11, 230, 6th)
• C James Scott (6-11, 220, So.)

Clemson

• G Jaland Lowe (6-3, 175, So.)
• G Ishmael Leggett (6-3, 185, Sr.)
• F Zack Austin (6-7, 210, R-Sr.)
• F Cameron Corhen (6-10, 235, Jr.)
• F Guillermo Diaz Graham (7-0, 225, Jr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Panthers, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Pitt

Additional Coverage

• Watch: Louisville HC Pat Kelsey Previews Pitt
• Louisville Trending Towards a Return to NCAA Tournament

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville’s five losses have all come to teams now ranked in the AP Top 25: No. 1 Tennessee (14-1), No. 4 Duke (13-2), No. 6 Kentucky (12-3), No. 17 Oklahoma (13-2) and No. 23 Ole Miss (13-2). As of Jan. 9, those teams are a combined 65-10.
• Against Clemson on Jan. 7, J’Vonne Hadley scored 32 points, the most by any player in an ACC game thus far this season.
• Against North Carolina on Jan. 1, Chucky Hepburn made 16 free throws, tying the program record for free throws made in a single game.
• Louisville played five ranked opponents before the New Year. The Cardinals have the 12th best strength of schedule according to KenPom as of Jan. 9.
• As of Jan.9, Louisville is 11th in the country in 3-point attempts per game (30.9), 53rd in free throw attempts per game (22.9) and 55th in free throws made per game (16.6).
• As of Jan. 9, Chucky Hepburn is 10th in the country in steals per game at 2.56 and seventh in total steals with 41. Reyne Smith is sixth in total 3-pointers made (54), third in the country total 3-point attempts (145) and 18th in 3-pointers per game at 3.38.
• Sophomore forward James Scott is fifth in the country in dunks as of Jan. 9 with 34 makes on the year, according to Bart Torvik. He leads the ACC in that category.
• Senior guard Reyne Smith was named ACC Player of the Week on Dec. 23 for his 27-point performance at Florida State. It was just the third time in the program’s 11 years in the ACC that Louisville has had multiple ACC Player of the Week awards as Chucky Hepburn also earned that title on Dec. 2.
• Against Florida State on Dec. 21, Chucky Hepburn and Terrence Edwards Jr. both logged eight assists apiece; it was the first Louisville game to have two Cardinals log at least eight assists each in the same game since Peyton Siva and Gorgui Deng both had eight against Syracuse in the 2013 Big East Tournament championship game.
• Louisville’s 89-61 victory over No. 14/15 Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis was Louisville’s first win over a ranked team since beating No. 19/20 Virginia Tech 73-71 on Jan. 6, 2021. It’s the highest ranked opponent the Cards have beat since beating No. 3 Duke 79-73 on Jan. 18, 2020.
• In the win over Indiana, UofL’s Chucky Hepburn logged 16 points, 10 assists and seven steals. He’s the first DI player with at least those marks since Markquis Nowell of Kansas State did it against West Virginia with 23 points on Dec. 31, 2022.
• Chucky Hepburn was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday, Dec. 2 after his dominant performance in the Battle 4 Atlantis. It’s Louisville’s first Player of the Week accolade since Feb. 20, 2023. Over the three contests, Hepburn averaged 20 points per game, shooting 62.5% from the field, netting 20 of 32 attempts.
• In his Louisville debut, fifth-year senior Kasean Pryor logged a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds against Morehead State on Nov. 4. He is one of seven Cardinals since 1965 to produce a double-double in their first time on the court in a Louisville uniform.
• The Cardinals are one of the more experienced teams in the country this season. Between the 17-man roster, the average amount of years in college basketball is 3.0 years with just two underclassmen on the roster.
• Louisville has just two underclassmen in freshman Khani Rooths and sophomore James Scott. Louisville is one of just 11 schools in DI that has two or fewer underclassmen on their roster, and the only Power Four school in that list.
• Louisville has 11 players who were on teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The roster in total has made 14 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances at their previous schools, playing in 20 NCAA Tournament games across their careers.

Pitt

• The Panthers have won each of the past five meetings with Louisville by double figures and have a +23.4 points per game scoring margin during its five-game win streak against the Cardinals.
• Pitt has won eight consecutive ACC home games and 15 straight games overall at the Petersen Events Center for its longest home win streak since a 15-game stretch from Feb. 29, 2012 through Dec. 23, 2012. Pitt’s last 16-game home win streak was from Nov. 19, 2005 through Feb. 25, 2006.
• The Panthers are 14-4 in their past 18 ACC contests dating back to last season.
• Pitt has put together back-to-back seasons with 20+ wins, including 10+ victories in ACC play. The Panthers are tied for third in conference wins and tied for fourth in total wins since the start of the 2022-23 season.
• Pitt ranks 20th in the NCAA NET with three Quad 1-2 wins (West Virginia, vs. LSU, at Ohio State). All three losses have come against Quad 1 opponents.
• Pitt is one of two programs (joined by Rutgers) in the NCAA with two guards averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game or better. Ishmael Leggett (16.8 ppg., 5.8 rpg.) and Jaland Lowe (16.7 ppg., 4.7 rpg.) have anchored the Panther attack through the first 15 games of the season.
• Ishmael Leggett (16.9 ppg.) and Jaland Lowe (16.7 ppg.) rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in the ACC in scoring. Pitt is the only program with two players ranked in the top 10 in scoring.
• Jaland Lowe is filling the stat sheet averaging 16.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. He is one of two players in the NCAA (joined by Kam Jones of Marquette) averaging at least 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game.
• Zack Austin entered the starting lineup prior to the Virginia Tech game (12/6) and is averaging 12.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in the past six games. He is 24-of-45 (.533) from the fi eld, including 12-of-26 (.462) from three-point range, in that span.
• Cameron Corhen has scored in double figures 10 times and is averaging 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while shooting a team-high 65.7 percent (69-of-105) from the fi eld. He also leads the Panthers with 27 dunks and 36 offensive rebounds.
• Ishmael Leggett is one of 10 players in the NCAA averaging at least 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
• Guillermo Diaz Graham is averaging 7.3 points per game, while going 11-of-16 (.688) from the field, including 6-of-11 (.545) from three-point range, over the past four games.
• Ishmael Leggett is averaging 18.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 66.7 percent (58-of-87) from the field over his eight games at the Petersen Events Center. He has scored 20 or more points three times and topped the 15-point mark in seven of eight home contests.
• Brandin Cummings is averaging 13.0 points per game on 60.0 percent (21-of-35) shooting from the field, including 10-of-17 (.588) from three-pointrange, over the past five games.
• Pitt leads the ACC in fi eld goal percentage (.483), while ranking second in effective field goal percentage (.555), free throw percentage (.773), scoring margin (+12.73), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.40:1). The Panthers also rank third in the conference in scoring (81.6 ppg.) and blocked shots (4.6 bpg.).
• Pitt is averaging 90.7 points per game, while shooting 53.6 percent (285-of-532) from the field and 40.8 percent (89-of-218) from three-point range, in nine games at the Petersen Events Center this season. The Panthers have scored 80 or more points in all nine home games, while shooting 50 percent or better from the field in seven of those contests.
• The Panthers are 9-0 at the Petersen Events Center this season with a +26.9 points per game scoring margin. Five of Pitt’s nine home wins have been by 20 or more points.
• The Panthers rank 23rd nationally (second in the ACC) in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency
  at 118.4 points per 100 possessions. Pitt is coming off its lowest scoring output of the season in Tuesday’s loss at No. 4 Duke.
• Pitt is 12-0 on the season when winning or tying the rebounding battle. The Panthers have been out-rebounded by a combined 37 boards in their three losses this season.
• The Panthers are currently averaging 8.6 three-pointers per game, while shooting 35.5 percent (129-of-363) from beyond the arc for the season. Pitt has averaged 9.0 or more threes per game and shot better than 35 percent from long range in each of the past two seasons.

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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