Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: Fox Sports South
Line: Louisville -2.5
It’s Game Day in Pittsburgh #CardNation! ACC Game 1. Everything you need to know about tonight’s matchup. #GameDayGIF pic.twitter.com/U2us49c6iY
— Chris Mack (@CoachChrisMack) December 22, 2020
Projected Lineups:
The Louisville Cardinals (4-1) will look to bounce back on the road in their ACC opener at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. The Cards most recently lost by 37 points on the road at Wisconsin on Saturday. Pitt (5-1,1-0) has won five straight after losing its season opener at home to St. Francis (PA).
Louisville leads the all-time series with Pittsburgh 19-6 and is 8-2 on the road. The Cards most recently beat the Panthers twice last season, 64-46 at home and 73-68 on the road in OT.
Louisville will get its leading scorer back after Carlik Jones missed the game on Saturday. David Johnson was forced to run the undermanned backcourt by himself and the offense had its worst game of the season by far, only scoring 48 points. It became clear that Jones is the most valuable player on this team. Johnson looked completely lost without him on the floor, but, to be fair, he did not have much help offensively. Defensively, Louisville probably played better than the score indicated, but the game was out of reach by halftime.
Pittsburgh has looked good since being upset at home to start the year. The Panthers have picked up a couple of impressive road wins at Northwestern and at Miami (FL). The trio of Xavier Johnson, Justin Champagnie, and Au’diese Toney each are averaging more than 15.0 points through six games.
With Carlik Jones back we can expect to see the same Cardinal team that won its first four games of the season. Pitt has played the Cards rather close over the past two seasons despite finishing last in the ACC each year. This is a game that Louisville should win, and one that they need to win ahead of the rivalry game this upcoming weekend.
Louisville 75 Pittsburgh 63
