Louisville Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Panthers Picks and Predictions March 1st 2025

No. 19 Louisville Aims to Extend Winning Streak Against Pitt

For head coach Pat Kelsey and the No. 19 Louisville Cardinals, the year 2025 has been transformative.

Louisville concluded 2024 with an 8-5 record but has surged to a remarkable 14-1 since the new year began, positioning themselves as strong contenders in the ACC. This marks a significant turnaround from the previous two seasons under Kenny Payne, during which the Cardinals amassed a combined 12-52 record. They now seek to continue their ascent with a home game against Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday.

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Louisville (22-6, 15-2 ACC) owes much of its success to a quartet of high-scoring guards, propelling them through an impressive ACC campaign in Kelsey’s inaugural season. Reyne Smith, Terrence Edwards Jr., and Chucky Hepburn each average approximately 15.5 points per game in conference play, while J’Vonne Hadley contributes 13.9 points per game.

“We never really talk about the past,” Kelsey remarked regarding Louisville’s recent struggles and swift improvement. “I mean, we respect our past … (but) we talk about us and the present and what we’re going to do in our next game.”

The Cardinals are currently on a six-game winning streak, most recently securing a 71-66 victory at Virginia Tech on Tuesday. The four primary guards combined for 48 of Louisville’s 71 points, and the team forced 22 turnovers to clinch the road win. Hepburn led the effort with 15 points.

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In contrast, Pitt (16-12, 7-10 ACC) has faced challenges in 2025, recording a 6-10 mark since January. Despite a strong backcourt duo in Jaland Lowe (16.7 points per game) and Ishamel Leggett (16.5 points per game), the Panthers have dropped six of their last eight games under head coach Jeff Capel, placing them outside the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Pitt’s recent outing resulted in a 73-67 home loss to Georgia Tech. The Panthers shot just 36.8 percent from the field, with Lowe and Leggett combining for 45 points but hitting only 12 of 35 shots (34.3 percent). Additionally, Pitt was outrebounded 37-27 and allowed Georgia Tech to convert 25 of 28 free-throw attempts.

“We’ve not been a good rebounding team all year and really since January, we’ve tried different things,” Capel stated. “We’ll continue to try different things. … We’re in the point of the season where you can’t … put football pads on them and do old-school stuff. We have to have a will to go get the basketball.”

The two teams previously met on January 11 in Pittsburgh, where Louisville edged out an 82-78 win. The Cardinals’ guard quartet combined for 67 points, with Smith leading the way, sinking seven three-pointers and totaling 25 points. Smith currently ranks second nationally, averaging 3.7 made three-pointers per game.

Lowe and Leggett combined for 40 points in that matchup, but Pitt was outrebounded 44-31 by Louisville.

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