No. 15 U of L-Pitt: Storylines, how to watch
Pittsburgh at No. 15 Louisville
Game time: 7:05 p.m., Wednesday. Site: KFC Yum! Center. Spread: U of L opened as a 13-point favorite. Series: U of L leads, 12-5, and won the last meeting, 67-60, on Feb. 24, 2016. Television: Fox Sports South (Tim Brando, Dan Bonner). Internet live-stream: ESPN3.com, WatchESPN app (subject to blackout in certain areas). Radio: WKRD-790; SiriusXM channel 81.
* For viewers outside the Louisville metro area, here is the complete list of channels carrying the game around the country: Fox Sports Carolinas, Fox Sports Sun, Fox Sports Midwest Plus/Fox Sports Indiana Plus, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, YES (at midnight), NESN Plus, ROOT Sports Pittsburgh Plus, SportsTime Ohio, Fox Sports Detroit Plus, Fox Sports North Plus, Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports San Diego, Fox Sports Prime Ticket, ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain and ROOT Sports Northwest.
PROJECTED STARTERS
LOUISVILLE (13-3, 1-2 ACC)
Pos.-Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Quentin Snider, 6-2, Jr., 2.4, 11.4
G-Donovan Mitchell, 6-3, So., 4.9, 13.4
F-V.J. King, 6-6, Fr., 2.4, 6.3
F-Ray Spalding, 6-10, So., 5.7, 6.4
C-Anas Mahmoud, 7-0, Jr., 3.5, 5.9
Key reserves - Deng Adel, F, 6-7, So., 10.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg; Jaylen Johnson, F, 6-9, Jr., 8.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg; Mangok Mathiang, C, 6-10, R-Sr., 5.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg; Tony Hicks, G, 6-1, Gr., 3.2 ppg, 1.3 rpg; Ryan McMahon, G, 6-0, R-Fr., 2.3 ppg, 0.6 rpg; David Levitch, G, 6-3, Sr., 1.9 ppg, 1.2 rpg. - Matz Stockman (concussion) is out.
PITTSBURGH (12-4, 1-2 ACC)
Pos.-Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Chris Jones, 6-6, Sr., 2.9, 6.7
G-Cameron Johnson, 6-7, So., 5.0, 12.4
F-Jamel Artis, 6-7, Sr., 5.9, 21.5
F-Sheldon Jeter, 6-8, Sr., 7.9, 8.0
F-Michael Young, 6-9, Sr., 7.6, 22.3
Key reserves - Ryan Luther, F, 6-9, Jr., 6.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg; Justice Kithcart, G, 6-1, Fr., 1.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg; Jonathan Milligan, G, 6-2, Jr., 2.5 ppg, 0.4 rpg; Damon Wilson, G, 6-4, So., 0.8 ppg, 0.6 rpg.
STORYLINES
► Holding serve: Winning at home comes at a premium this season in the ACC, at least so far. Home teams are 17-6 in league play through Monday, and there have been quite a few eye-catching results around the conference. That means Louisville has to win its home games in this race. The Cards started behind the 8-ball with the late December loss to Virginia, but they have a string of home games over the next week to get back over .500. Pittsburgh, with its veteran lineup, does have a strong road win at Maryland under its belt.
MORE U OF L COVERAGE
►TV analyst apologies to U of L's Adel
►Adel's condition better than anticipated
►The Resume: U of L's updated NCAA tournament profile
►New CardsHQ podcast: An interview with Quentin Snider's dad
► Length wins out: Louisville's switch to Ray Spalding and Anas Mahmoud as the starting frontcourt alongside Deng Adel has paid off in the three games since Rick Pitino made the move. Spalding's scoring hasn't been there, but he has 26 rebounds, three blocks and three steals in those three games, and his long arms and athleticism have made life difficult for opponents. Mahmoud, though, has really flourished, averaging 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 1.3 assists and one steal per game. He is 12-of-18 from the field in that trio of games, too.
► Scouting Pitt: New coach Kevin Stallings has taken over an experienced Pitt team without much depth. The Panthers are built around seniors Jamel Artis and Michael Young, who have made for a dynamic duo. But the help for them has been inconsistent. Pittsburgh's defense ranks 141st in the nation and 14th in the 15-team ACC, despite the Panthers' strong defensive rebounding (they get 76 percent of all missed opponent shots). So how are they 12-4? Well, they can shoot the ball – 43.7 percent from 3-point range in three league games – and they rank second in the ACC in offensive rebounding so far in conference contests.
