Cards Visit Pitt for Second Game in 10 Days

Game Information
Site: Peterson Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pa. (12,508)
Television: ACC Network - Wes Durham, play-by-play; Dan Bonner, analyst.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Jody Demling, analyst (XM channel 384, SiriusXM App 974)
Series History: Louisville leads 21-6 (12-1 in Louisville, 9-2 in Pittsburgh, 0-3 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 75, Pittsburgh 72 (Jan. 5, 2022 at KFC Yum! Center)
UofL National Ranking: unranked in USA Today & Associated Press polls
Next UofL Game: Jan. 19 vs. Boston College, KFC Yum! Center, 7 p.m. ET (RSN)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Louisville is back on the road as the Cardinals visit Pittsburgh, Pa. on Saturday to face the Pittsburgh Panthers for the second time in 10 days. Tipoff is at 4:02 p.m. ET.

Louisville dropped its second straight game in falling 79-63 to NC State in the KFC Yum! Center on Wednesday despite having their best shooting half of the season in the second half, shooting 60.9 percent (14-for-23). NC State shot 56.1 percent from the field for the game, the highest for a UofL opponent this year, including making 12-of-25 three-pointers. The Cardinals' bench contributed a season-high 52 bench points, but managed just 11 points from its starting lineup.

Sydney Curry produced his first double-double for the Cardinals with 22 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes against NC State, all season-highs. A junior college transfer, he had scored 33 total points in 12 games entering the game. Curry is averaging 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds over the last three games.

Noah Locke, fifth in the ACC in three-pointers made per game (2.5), totaled 13 points -- his 11th game in double figures this year -- vs. NC State and matched his season highs of four rebounds and three assists. He passed 1,100 points in his collegiate career on Wednesday. He has made at least three threes in nine games and has made 15-of-29 threes over the last five games.

Pittsburgh (6-10, 1-4 ACC) won its first ACC game 69-67 over Boston College on Jan. 8, but fell 77-61 at Syracuse in its last outing as Mouhamadou Gueye produced a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers. Pitt's first three ACC losses were decided by a total of five points, including two by a single point. Pitt forward John Hugley is 13th in the ACC in scoring (15.2 ppg) and fouth in rebounding (8.2 rpg), and is fourth in the nation in free throws made (89 in 124 attempts).

Louisville has a 21-6 series advantage over Pittsburgh and the Cardinals have won five straight and 17 of the last 18 meetings. In the last matchup last week, the Cards prevailed 75-72 over Pitt in the KFC Yum! Center on Jan. 5 as El Ellis led Louisville with 18 points -- 14 in the second half -- and Sydney Curry added season highs of eight points and eight rebounds. UofL has an 8-2 record in Pitt's Peterson Events Center.

Notes

Louisville's 34 ACC road wins in its eighth year in the league is the fourth-most in the ACC in that period. Louisville is one of six teams with two ACC road victories this season.
The Cardinals four ACC victories this season have been by five points or less.
Louisville has averaged 29.4 points per game from its bench this season. The Cardinals' bench contributed a season-high 52 points against NC State, UofL's eighth game this season with over 30 bench points. Louisville's leading scorer has come off the bench in six games this season.
Louisville was a member of the Big East Conference with Pittsburgh for eight seasons (2005-13). Three UofL losses to Pitt came in Big East Conference Tournaments in the Cardinals' first three years in that league.
Dre Davis scored 13 points against NC State for his sixth double-digit scoring game of the season and second in four games. He came off the bench for the first time this season at Georgia Tech and responded with 13 points, all in the second half.
Jarrod West, third in the nation in career steals among active players with 281, passed 1,300 career points at Marshall and UofL. West is fourth in the ACC in assists-turnovers ratio (2.33), sixth in steals (1.7) and 11th in assists (3.5).
Malik Williams has grabbed at least eight rebounds in 10 of his 15 games and is third in the ACC in rebounding (8.5 rpg) and 29th in the nation in defensive rebounding (6.9 per game). He needs 10 rebounds for 600 in his career.
Louisville's defense has not been as stingy in recent games as it has been earlier this season. Over the last three games, opponents are shooting 10 percent higher (.488 to .388) and scoring over 10 points more per game (76.7 to 66.0) than in the Cards' first 13 games of the season when UofL ranked among the top 25 defenses in the nation by Kenpom analytics (No. 51 now).

University of Louisville Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Curry

Dre Davis

El Ellis

Noah Locke

Jarrod West

Malik Williams

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