Men's Basketball Faces Pitt on ESPN Big Monday
January 27, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2013
| No. 5/5 Louisville vs. Pittsburgh |
| Date: Monday, Jan. 28 |
| Time: 7:02 p.m. ET |
| Location: KFC Yum! Center / Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. |
| Game Notes: Louisville | Pittsburgh |
| TV: ESPN (WatchESPN) / Sean McDonough (pbp), Bill Raftery (analyst), Jay Bilas (analyst) |
| Radio: WKRD 790 (joined in progress on WHAS 840) | Listen Here | SIRIUS 91, XM 91 |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Playing its second game in three days, the University of Louisville men's basketball team will play host to Pittsburgh on Jan. 28 on ESPN's Big Monday in the KFC Yum! Center.
Tip is set for 7 p.m. and the ESPN crew calling the game features Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst) and Jay Bilas (analyst). Fans also can listen to the game on WKRD 790 AM (joined in progress on WHAS 840 AM), with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) broadcasting the game.
Louisville (16-4, 4-3 BIG EAST) dropped its third-straight league contest after falling on the road to Georgetown, 53-51, on Saturday. The Cardinals had three players finish with double digit point totals, but, collectively, shot just 34.8 percent from the field. Also, after going 12-of-12 from the charity stripe in the first half, Louisville managed to go just 4-of-10 in the second. The Hoyas didn't fare much better from the field, as Louisville's defense held Georgetown to 38.8 percent from the floor. Georgetown also had 17 turnovers in the game.
Individually, Gorgui Dieng and Luke Hancock tallied 12 points apiece, while Russ Smith came off the bench and contributed 12. Dieng, Wayne Blackshear and Chane Behanan also tallied seven rebounds apiece. Otto Porter led the Hoyas with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Markel Starks added 17.
Pittsburgh (17-4, 5-3) has been on an upward swing as of late, winning its last four and five of its last six.
Last time out, the Panthers crushed DePaul, 93-55, on Saturday. Trey Ziegler scored 18 points off the bench, Lamar Patterson had 15 in a starting role, and Steven Adams nearly notched a double-double, with nine points and 14 rebounds. As a team, Pittsburgh shot 49.3 percent from the floor, including a 50 percent stint in the first half, while holding the Blue Demons to 27.7 percent from the field. Brandon Young led DePaul with 13 points and five assists.
Statistically, Louisville ranks in the top-20 nationally in turnover margin (No. 2), steals per game (No. 3), scoring margin (No. 6) and scoring defense (No. 20). Pittsburgh holds top-20 listings nationally in assist-turnover ratio (No. 1), turnovers per game (No. 5), assists per game (No. 6), scoring defense (No. 6), scoring margin (No. 7), field goal percentage (No. 11), turnover margin (No. 13) and rebound margin (No. 20).
The Panthers are under the direction of 10th-year head coach Jamie Dixon, who has led the program to a 255-81 record. Pittsburgh was picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches' poll, with Adams earning BIG EAST Rookie Preseason Player of the Year honors and Tray Woodall garnering preseason honorable mention accolades.
SERIES HISTORY - Louisville vs. Pittsburgh
Louisville leads the all-time series, 7-5, winning the last three straight. The Cardinals, also winners of the last three home games, posted a 73-62 victory last year in Pittsburgh and then earned a 57-54 win at home in February. In the first meeting, Kyle Kuric led all scorers with 21 points and Chane Behanan had 19. The Cardinals shot 55.3 percent from the field, with a 70-percent stint in the second half. In the second meeting, Russ Smith came off the bench and had game highs of 18 points (7-of-12 shooting) and four steals.
GAME FACTS - Louisville vs. Pittsburgh
Date: Monday, Jan. 28
Time: 7:02 p.m. ET
Site: KFC Yum! Center / Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000)
TV: The game will be televised on ESPN, with Sean McDonough(play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst) and Jay Bilas (analyst) calling the action.
Radio: The contest is available on WKRD 790 AM (joined in progress on WHAS 840 AM), as Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) announce the game. Audio also is available on BIG EAST IMG Radio, with Brock Bowling (play-by-play) and John Celestand (analyst) on the call.
SIRIUS: The game will be available on SIRIUS channel 91 and XM channel 91.
Series History: Louisville leads the all-time series, 7-5 (4-1 in Louisville, 3-1 in Washington, 0-3 neutral).
Officials: Ed Corbett, Mike Roberts, Roger Ayers
Next U of L Game: Sunday, Feb. 3 vs. Marquette, Louisville, Ky., KFC Yum! Center, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN)
