Pitt prepares for improved Louisville while trying to extend 3-game winning streak
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There is no denying Jeff Capel’s claim that Louisville, Pitt’s opponent at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Petersen Events Center, has improved since a 75-54 home loss to the Panthers on Jan. 18.
The Cardinals are shooting better, hitting 47.8% of their shots in the past four games, compared to 33.9% against Pitt. They also have totaled 34 3s after getting only five against Pitt.
Then, there’s this:
Louisville, actually, won a game.
The Cardinals (3-20, 1-11 ACC) defeated Georgia Tech on Wednesday, 68-58, their first victory since a week before Christmas Eve. Even while losing its next game 81-78 to Florida State, Louisville recorded its highest point total in an ACC game this season. By comparison, Pitt lost 71-64 to the Seminoles at the Pete.
“If I’m another team and I’m facing us in the ACC Tournament and Louisville is right, I’m nervous,” Cardinals coach Kenny Payne said. “Because we play hard in stretches. What if we played hard for 35, 40 minutes?”
That is Capel’s fear.
If Louisville wins, a defeat would damage Pitt’s NCAA Tournament hopes. When ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his latest Bracketology on Friday, Pitt was a No. 9 seed, matched against Michigan State in the Midwest Region.
But if Pitt (16-7, 9-3) wins, the Panthers would move into a tie for first place with Clemson — even if Capel doesn’t want to acknowledge it — and perhaps move further off the dreaded tournament bubble.
When he was asked what winning the conference title would mean to his team, Capel politely brushed off the question.
“Honestly, we’re not even thinking about that,” he said. “We’re thinking about the next step, and that’s what we’ve done all year and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.
“We’re just going to worry about what’s right in front of us. Right now, that’s about having a good practice (Monday), trying to make sure we’re prepared for a team in Louisville that’s gotten better, that’s played better.”
Pitt has won its past three games against Wake Forest, No. 19 Miami and North Carolina by a total of six points.
When Capel was asked if luck played a part in the victories, he offered an honest assessment of his team’s performance. He said preparation, confidence and luck all played a part.
“We have guys who aren’t afraid of moments and have stepped up and made big plays,” he said. “Whether it’s getting stops, whether it’s making free throws, getting fouled, executing, being down and ending the game on a big run.
“Also, there’s luck involved. When you have a guy who’s a really good shooter that gets a wide-open 3, he misses it. Or, a guy who’s a very good scorer, he drives and gets a pretty good shot and he just misses it.”
But confidence is probably a bigger factor than luck.
“I like the swag that they play with,” Payne said, “the confidence that they play with, the chatter, the toughness that they play with.
“They talk to each other. They fight together. If one guy’s down, you can hear two or three other guys try to lift them up. “They’re undersized — 1 through 4 — but they make up for it with their toughness.”