Listless Louisville Thumped By Pitt to Extend Losing Streak

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Taking on a surprisingly competitive team in Pitt, a victory in ACC play continued to elude the Louisville men's basketball program, as they fell 75-54 Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals fall to 2-16 overall and 0-8 in the ACC continue their winless start to league play. Their overall losing streak now sits at eight games, last winning on Dec. 17 against Florida A&M, and it hands them their eighth 20-point loss of the season - their most in program history

As for Pitt, who was picked in the preseason to finish 14th in the ACC, they improve to 13-6 and 6-2 in the conference. They also secure their first win in the KFC Yum! Center, and only their second ever win in the city of Louisville.

UofL shot only 33.9 percent from the field and 5-of-20 on three-point attempts, while allowing Pitt to shoot 49.1 percent and a blazing 14-of-34 on threes.

Once again, turnovers were a major factor. Louisville committed 17 for the game, allowing Pitt to score 25 points off of them, while the Panthers committed 13 but resulting in only nine Cardinals points. They also only produced six assists to Pitt's 21.

Guard El Ellis led the Cards in scoring with 19 points, with forward J.J. Traynor being the lone other Louisville player to break double figures with 14 points. Starting forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield also missed his second consecutive game with a foot injury.

The first half followed a similar script to most of Louisville's games up to this point of the season. The Cardinals were active on both ends of the floor right out of the gates, leading Pitt 14-10 in the first seven minutes of the game. But then the Panthers flipped a switch, draining five consecutive three-pointers en route to firing off a 19-2 run to take control of the game. During this run, Pitt shot 7-of-8 while Louisville was 1-of-12

To the Cardinals' credit, they were able to show some resilience down the stretch before halftime. They kept pace with Pitt in the five minutes after their lengthy run, and were even able to get the deficit down to as little as seven in the final minute before the Panthers took a 37-28 lead into the half.

Unfortunately for Louisville, the second half was also eerily similar to most latter halves that they have played in this season. The Cardinals were able to get their deficit down to single digits on a handful of occasions in the second half, even as low as six points in the first three minutes of the half. However, couldn't string together the necessary possessions to truly threaten Pitt with a comeback.

The closest Louisville came to mounting a comeback was when they trailed just nine with 10:22 to go. For the remainder of the game, Pitt out-scored them 21-9. During this time, the Cardinals shot only 3-for-15 from the field.

Next up, Louisville will be off for a week, and will resume play when they hit the road for a matchup at Boston College. Tip-off against the Eagles is set for Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 9:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Jae'Lyn Withers: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter