Cards Visit Pitt in Tuesday Night Clash

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Louisville men's basketball is back on the road this week for two games, starting at Pitt at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday in Pittsburgh, Pa. The game will air on ACC Network.

The Cardinals nearly earned their second straight ACC win Saturday, but their comeback effort against Florida State fell short in an 81-78 defeat. Pitt has been off since a 65-64 win at North Carolina on Feb. 1. The Panthers have won five of their last six.

Louisville leads the all-time series against Pitt 21-8. The Cardinals have won 17 of the last 19 meetings, but the Panthers won this year's first meeting 75-54 on Jan. 18 in Louisville.

GAME 24

Louisville (3-20, 1-11 ACC) at Pitt (16-7, 9-3 ACC)
February 7, 2023 | 7 p.m. ET
Petersen Events Center | Pittsburgh, Pa.

MEDIA INFO

Listen: Cardinal Sports Network (WLCL 93.9 FM & WGTK 970 AM flagship); Streaming (Paul Rogers, pxp | Bob Valvano, Analysis)

Watch: ACC Network (Jay Alter, pxp | Malcolm Huckaby, analyst)

Live Stats: Sidearm Stats

TOP STORYLINES

• The Cardinals are about to embark on an eight-game stretch to end the regular season that will see them play seven games against teams in the top 65 of the NET Rankings. Their next five opponents have an average NET Ranking of 40.

• Over the last 14 games, senior guard El Ellis has averaged 18.3 points, 5.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals. As of Sunday, Ellis was one of 18 players in the nation with at least 395 points and 110 assists this season. After having a positive or even assist-to-turnover ratio just three times in the first nine games of the season, Ellis has been positive or even in 12 of the last 14 games. In his last nine games since 2023 began, he has 53 assists against just 29 turnovers.

• In last week's 1-1 split vs. Georgia Tech and Florida State, redshirt junior forward Jae'Lyn Withers averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while making 8 of 12 3-pointers. Over the last nine games since 2023 began, Withers is averaging 11.9 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 20 of 40 (50%) from beyond the arc.

• On Jan. 19, Louisville added freshman forward/center Emmanuel Okorafor to the roster. Okorafor is a 6-foot-9 native of Lagos, Nigeria, and is eligible immediately after arriving from NBA Academy Africa. He made his college debut Jan. 28 at Notre Dame with eight points, five rebounds and one block in 18 reserve minutes.

• Over the last nine games since turning to 2023, redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James is averaging 12.9 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 45% from the field and 42% from the 3-point line. In the first 14 games of the year, James averaged just 6.9 points while shooting 44% overall and 31% from 3-point range.

• Sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has missed the last six games with a foot injury. He leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game and is averaging 7.5 points per contest. Before the injury, Huntley-Hatfield had made 16 of 25 total shots from the field (64%) in his last five games played.

HISTORY VS. PITT (UofL leads 21-8)

Last Meeting: Pitt 75, Louisville 54
Jan. 18, 2023 | Louisville, Ky.

Louisville men's basketball couldn't withstand a barrage of 3-pointers from Pitt, dropping a 75-54 contest at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Panthers went 14-for-34 from long range, including 7 of 10 to start the game, and scored 25 points off Louisville's 17 turnovers.

Louisville built a 14-10 lead at the 13:18 mark after back-to-back putbacks by redshirt junior forward Jae'Lyn Withers and sophomore forward Roosevelt Wheeler.

Pitt then went on a 19-2 run that included five 3s, three of them by Nike Sibande. A dunk by Jorge Diaz Graham made it 29-16 with 6:51 to play.

Greg Elliott led Pitt with 23 points and five 3-pointers.

Senior guard El Ellis had 19 points and five assists to lead Louisville, which outrebounded Pitt by one and won second-chance points, 15-1. JJ Traynor tallied a career-high 14 points to go along with six rebounds, and Withers chipped in eight points and seven boards.

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Players Mentioned

El Ellis

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

Mike James

Emmanuel Okorafor

JJ Traynor

Roosevelt Wheeler

Jae'Lyn Withers

University of Louisville Athletics