Pittsburgh (12-5 SU, 13-4-1 ATS, 5-2 ACC) travels to Kentucky to take on Louisville (2-16 SU, 5-12-1 ATS, 0-7 ACC) on Wednesday night at 7pmET from KFC Yum! Center.
These teams met twice last season with Pitt covering both games as underdogs. The Panthers won by 12 at home and lost by three on the road, getting 12.5.
Pitt won just six games in the conference last season and they can match that total with a win on Wednesday. If this continues, Jeff Capel could be up for ACC Coach of the Year, though Brad Brownell is a lock if Clemson continues to roll. The Panthers are coming off a 71-60 win over Georgia Tech on the road on Saturday. Nike Sibande led the Panthers with a season-high 21 points and added six rebounds, while Jamarius Burton contributed 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting. The Panthers struggled from the field (43% FG, 30% 3pt), but they held the Yellow Jackets to just 36% from the field.
Season high for @sibande_nike ?? pic.twitter.com/SVSvCoOgva
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) January 15, 2023
It's been a long time since you can actually look at Net Rankings (58th) and KenPom Rankings (62nd) for Pitt. They have a legitimate chance of making the NCAA Tournament, but will need to get more road wins (4-2) and quality wins (5-6 against Quad 1 & 2 teams). They do have home wins over Duke and North Carolina to help their cause. It helps to add players like Burton, who has played with Texas Tech and Wichita State. He leads the team with 16.7 points per game and 4.0 assists on 53.4% shooting (41.9% 3pt).
Overall, the Panthers average 74.6 points per game on 44.6% shooting (33.8% 3pt). they allow 68.2 points per game on 40.8% shooting (30.8% 3pt). The biggest issue for this team right now is turnovers. They rank 15th (last) in the ACC in turnover margin (-2.97) and assist/turnover ratio (0.81).