Louisville vs Pittsburgh Prediction Basketball Picks 1-6-24
Louisville Cardinals (5-8) vs Pittsburgh Panthers (9-5)
2024-01-06 12:00:00 EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Louisville Cardinals +7.5 -- Over/Under: 145
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The Pittsburgh Panthers and the Louisville Cardinals meet Saturday in college basketball action from KFC Yum! Center. Pittsburgh is sitting at 9-5 overall following a loss to North Carolina on Tuesday. As for Louisville, they’re coming off a loss to Virginia in their last outing, dropping the Cardinals to 5-8 on the year. Let’s get into our Pittsburgh vs. Louisville prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Pittsburgh Panthers
The Panthers logged a 5-3 run over their first eight games this year, falling to Florida, Missouri and Clemson during that stretch. Pittsburgh would beat West Virginia, Canisius, South Carolina State and Fort Wayne in the next four before consecutive losses to Syracuse and North Carolina.
Back on Tuesday versus North Carolina, the Panthers were within three points 31-28 by the break. Pittsburgh didn’t end up getting closer than that however, losing 70-57 after a 39-29 second-half run. Leading team scorer Carlton Carrington put up 20 points with four rebounds and two assists.
Louisville Cardinals
Over on the Louisville side, they started out on a 4-3 run this year with losses to Chattanooga, Texas and Indiana. The Cardinals have won just one of their last six games however (against Pepperdine), falling to Virginia Tech, DePaul, Arkansas State, Kentucky and Virginia in that stretch.
Matched up against Virginia in the Wednesday game, the Cardinals were outscored 37-22 in the first half. After a 40-31 deficit from there, Louisville limped to a 77-53 defeat. Tops in scoring was Curtis Williams, who came off the bench with 14 points in 26 minutes of work.
ANDREW’S FREE PITTSBURGH VS LOUISVILLE PREDICTION
I’m staying with Pittsburgh. The Panthers didn’t play all that well in their last game versus a tough North Carolina team, shooting just 30.9 percent from the field and 17.2 percent (5-of-29) from outside. Pittsburgh was outmuscled 51-41 on the boards as well, but the good news is that they should match up much better on Saturday. The Panthers have hit 70 or more points in five of their last seven games and should hit that total against Louisville. The Cardinals have given up 77 or more points in consecutive games. Though Pittsburgh isn’t exactly the same caliber as Kentucky or Virginia, the Panthers should be fine on a cover if they play well.