Three Stats Tell The Story of Pitt's Dominance over Louisville
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers put a thorough beatdown on lowly Louisville, whose latest defeat came in 91-57 fashion at the Petersen Events Center. It's rare to see the Panthers beat anyone in such a comprehensive way - much less a program as historic and talent-rich as the Louisville Cardinals.
But this Louisville team is nonetheless a footnote in Pitt history now. That game will live on in media guides and record books as one of the most complete dominations of an opponent in all of Panther basketball's 116 seasons.
Historic Separation
Pitt's 34-point win over the Cardinals is the largest margin of victory ever tallied by this program in ACC play. It is also tied for the fifth-largest margin of victory over any conference opponent in Pitt history.
Putting up that many points is a rare feat for the modern Panthers. The Louisville game marks just the 26th time this program has scored 91 or more points in a regulation game at the Petersen Events Center since the venue opened at the start of the 2002-03 season. What makes that total even more astounding is that just two of those games - 2008 vs DePaul and 2021 against Syracuse - have come against high major opponents.
Elite Shooting From Everywhere
The Panthers shot 54.9% from the field, 54.8% from deep and 90% from the free throw line. Just three times over the last 12 seasons has Pitt ever shot 50/50/90 from the floor, 3-point range and free throw line and never has it happened against a Power 5 opponent.
The last time a Pitt team surpassed 50/40/90 shooting splits was a 76-67 victory over North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 2022. The 91 points the Panthers scored against Louisville are also the most ever recorded during a game in which they've recorded 50/40/90 shooting splits over the past 12 years.
Team Effort Trumps Hero Ball
For the first time since the Duke game back in mid-January, Pitt did not have a 20-point scorer. The Panthers have won just four times this year when no one scores 20 or more and have beaten just one high major team - then-No. 11 Virginia, who plays at one of the slowest paces in Division I - without someone cracking 20 points.
Not one Panther came even close to clearing the 20-point threshold against Louisville but they didn't need to. Pitt moved the ball well to fuel a balanced scoring effort and every player knocked down their open looks. The game got out of hand quickly and Jeff Capel was able to rest his starters. Leading scorers Jamarius Burton and Blake Hinson combined for just 19 points over 43 combined minutes, while the bench racked up 41 points.
The Panthers didn't even need heroic performances like Burton's 31-point outing against North Carolina or Hinson's 24-point, eight-3-pointer effort against Wake Forest to earn a victory this time.
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