Men's Basketball Hosts Pittsburgh on Wednesday Night
February 10, 2015 | Men's Basketball
GAME FACTS - Louisville vs. Pittsburgh
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (78-11 in 5th yr.)
Television: ACC Network (WHAS-TV in Louisville) Tom Werme, play-byplay; Cory Alexander, analyst. Click here for Affiliates
Radio: WKRD (790 AM; joined in progress on WHAS 840 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Doug Ormay,nalyst (Sirius 119, XM 194) Also: Westwood One -- Brandon Gaudin, play-by-play; Donny Marshall, analyst.
Series History: Louisville leads 9-5 (5-1 in Louisville, 4-1 in Pittsburgh, 0-3 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 80, Pittsburgh 68 (Jan. 25, 2015 at Pittsburgh, Pa.)
UofL National Ranking: 9th USA Today, 8th Associated Press
Officials: Michael Roberts, Jeffrey Anderson, Lamar Simpson
Next UofL Game: Feb. 14 vs. NC State, KFC Yum! Center, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Louisville opens a stretch with three of its next four games at home in the KFC Yum! Center as the Cardinals face the Pittsburgh Panthers at home on Wednesday. Louisville had its four game win streak broken at No. 3 Virginia on Feb. 7 with a 52-47 loss as Terry Rozier led the Cardinals with 16 points and five assists.
Louisville has four players averaging double figures. Rozier leads the Cards in scoring with 18.3 points per game. Montrezl Harrell ranks second with 15.2 points, while Chris Jones ranks third on the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game and Wayne Blackshear averages 11.0 points. The Cardinals are solid on the boards, Harrell leads the team with 9.0 rebounds per game. Rozier ranks second on the team in rebounding with 5.5 per game.
Louisville ranks among the nation's top 25 in eight statistical categories through games of Feb. 8. Individually, Montrezl Harrell is 37th nationally in rebounding (9.0) and 20th in field goal percentage (.575). Terry Rozier is 30th in steals (2.1) and 39th in scoring (18.3). Chris Jones is 23rd in steals (2.1).
Pitt (15-8, 4-5 ACC) has won its last three games, including an 83-77 victory over Syracuse at home on Feb. 7 in its last game as forward Jamel Artis totaled 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals to lead five players in double figures for the Panthers. Among Pitt's recent victories was a 76-72 win over No. 10 Notre Dame on Jan. 31.
Sophomore forward Michael Young leads Pitt in scoring (13.2 ppg, 19 double figure scoring games this season) and rebounding (8.0 rpg). Junior guard James Robinson (10.2 ppg) is fifth in the ACC in free throw percentage (.837) and is second in assists (5.1). Ranked third nationally in assist-to-turnovers ratio (1.66), Pitt is 62nd in the ratings percentage index (RPI) and 79th in the Sagarin Ratings through Feb. 8.
Louisville has a 9-5 advantage in its series with Pittsburgh, winning the last five matchups. The Cardinals won 80-68 at Pitt earlier this season (1-25-15) as Terry Rozier totaled 26 points, six assists and five rebounds for UofL. The two teams were both members of the Big East Conference for eight seasons (2005-13). Three UofL losses to Pitt have come in BIG EAST Conference Tournaments. UofL Coach Rick Pitino has a 9-9 record against Pittsburgh (1-3 at Providence, 0-1 at Kentucky, 8-5 at Louisville).
CARDINAL NOTES:
• Louisville's academic performance in the recently completed fall semester was impressive, with 15 of its 16 men's basketball student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or better grade point average. The Cardinals posted a collective 3.33 GPA for the 2014 Fall Semester, just short of the team record of 3.47 achieved last fall.
• Terry Rozier has averaged 20.7 points over the last 16 games, scoring over 20 points in eight contests. He has averaged 20.0 points in ACC games, which leads the league. He is second in the ACC in steals.
• Louisville's 115 victories over the last four years are the most wins in the nation in that stretch. Louisville is the only school in the nation with three straight 30-win seasons, including a school-record 35 victories by its 2012-13 NCAA Title team.
• Louisville has shot a combined 47.5 percent from the field in its last five games. Louisville has shot above 47 percent from the field on 11 occasions this season, including seven times in the last 11 games. UofL followed its 19 percent first half shooting performance at Virginia by connecting on 52 percent in the second half.
• Louisville has a 43-11 record in February over the last eight years (since 2007-08), winning 12 of its last 13 in the month.
• Louisville is seeking its 13th consecutive season with 20 or more victories. Louisville is one of eight Division I schools in the nation which have won 20 or more games in each of the past 12 seasons.
