Preview: Pitt Faces Surging Louisville

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers have suffered consecutive brutal losses against opponents they likely should have defeated. The first was a four-point road loss to Notre Dame on Feb. 22, and the second was a six-point loss to Georgia Tech at home on Feb. 25.

The Panthers now sit with a 7-10 record in the conference. If the Panthers lose their final three regular season games, it's possible they will fall out of the 15-team field that makes up the ACC Tournament.

Only a few weeks ago, the Panthers had hopes of making the NCAA Tournament. Now, they are fighting for every win and trying to make noise in the ACC Tournament.

Pitt is about to embark on their final road trip of the regular season. Their first opponent, No. 19 Louisville, is their first ranked opponent since they lost by 29 points to then-ranked No. 4 Duke on Jan. 7. The last time Pitt played Louisville was a 82-78 home loss on Jan. 11, following their loss to Duke.

Preview: Pitt vs Louisville

The Cardinals are on their fifth head coach since the legendary Rick Pitino took a break from coaching after the 2016-17 season.

The most recent hire is first-year head coach Pat Kelsey, who spent the last three seasons coaching at the College of Charleston, where won back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association conference championships and NCAA Tournament Appearances. He won three conference championships in nine seasons at Winthrop prior to his last stop.

Kelsey inherited a difficult situation, as the Cardinals won four games and eight games in the last two seasons, respectively.

These ranked as two of the worst seasons for Louisville, with their 1940-1941 season the worst, as they won two contests but only played 16 games.

The Cardinals have excelled in Kelsey's first season at the helm, holding a 22-6 record and are 2nd in the ACC heading into the match-up against Pitt.

Kelsey and the Cardinals have built this team through the transfer portal, not just succeeding in the new era of college basketball, but thriving.

Louisville's leading scorer is senior guard Chucky Hepburn, who is one of the most experienced players in college basketball.

Hepburn has started in every one of his 130 collegiate career games and has averaged over 30 minutes per game every season.

His spent his first three seasons at Wisconsin, averaging 12.2 points per game and shooting 40.5% from deep in his sophomore season. Hepburn leads Louisville with 15.6 points per game, six assists per game, the 18th best mark in the country, and 2.4 steals per game.

Hepburn is capable of big games, scoring a career-high 32 points in a 79-70 overtime win over West Virginia on Nov. 28 in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Starting with 13 points against SMU on Jan. 21, Hepburn has scored in double-digits eight straight games including a 29-point outburst against Florida State.

Another key transfer Louisville acquired is fifth-year senior guard Terrence Edwards Jr, who spent the first four seasons of his collegiate career at James Madison.

Standing at six-foot-six, Edwards Jr. got on the nation's radar last season when he led James Madison to a birth in the NCAA Tournament with a No. 12 seeding, where they upset No. 5 Wisconsin in the first round.

Edwards Jr. started in all 36 games and averaged 17.2 points last season. This year with the Cardinals, Edwards Jr. is the second-leading scorer averaging 14.8 points in his career-high 31.8 minutes per game. He also records the second-most assists per game for the Cardinals with 2.7.

Like Hepburn, Edwards Jr. has also scored in the double-digits eight straight games. He scored a season high 27 points in an 88-78 home win over Miami on Feb. 8.

Senior guard Reyne Smith transferred in to help with the Cardinals three-point shooting. Smith, who stands at six-foot-two, stepped on the campus of College of Charleston when Kelsey got there, and left with Kelsey too.

As a first-year, Smith shot 7.5 three-pointers per game on very good efficiency. In Smith's three seasons at Charleston he started all but 13 games and averaged double-digit points ever season.

Smith hasn't been a full-time starter this year with the Cardinals, but is shooting 39.7% from behind the arc on a career-high 9.6 attempts per game. He averages 14 points per game.

He is also arguably the most explosive scorer the Cardinals roster. Against Pitt, Smith hit seven three-pointers on 11 attempts en route to 25 points. Three games later, Smith dropped 30 points against SMU on 10 three-pointers.

Rounding out the Cardinals' starting lineup is fifth-year senior guard J'Vonne Hadley. Standing at six-foot-six, Hadley leads the Cardinals with 7.4 rebounds per game while adding 11.6 points per game.

Hadley proved he could be a full-time starter last season when he started all 36 games for Colorado averaging 11.6 points and grabbing six rebounds per game.

Hadley has grabbed 10-or-more rebounds seven times this season. He scored a career-high 32 points in a 74-64 win over Clemson. The next game, Hadley recorded 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting against the Panthers.

Like his running-mates, Hadley has scored double-digits in seven-straight games.

The Panthers have their hands full. While the Panthers have slowed down opposing teams best players, they've let opposing players have unexpected career nights.

Pitt has struggled against all of its ranked opponents this season. It had a chance to get a marquee win over Louisville at home earlier in the season, but its late game struggles popped up again.

Now on the road against a ranked opponent on a six-game win streak, the Panthers get a chance to measure up against elite compeition.

How to Watch: Pitt vs. Louisville

Pitt vs Louisville tips off at 6pm on Mar. 1. at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Follow Inside the Panthers on Twitter: @InsidePitt