Pittsburgh Panthers vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction, 3/1/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Panthers vs Louisville Cardinals

Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025

Location: KFC Yum! Center in Dayton, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Pittsburgh Panthers (16-12) are en route to KFC Yum! Center on Saturday where they will go up against the Louisville Cardinals (22-6).

The Pittsburgh Panthers faced off with Georgia Tech and took a loss by a score of 73-67 in their last contest. Pittsburgh wrapped up the contest having earned a 36.8% FG percentage (21 out of 57) and made 8 out of their 27 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Panthers converted 17 of their 21 tries for a percentage of 81.0%. When discussing grabbing boards, they earned 22 with 7 of them being offensive. They also distributed 13 dimes for the game while forcing 11 turnovers and having 8 steals. Concerning the defense, Pittsburgh allowed the other team to go 40.8% from the field on 20 out of 49 shooting. Georgia Tech earned 13 dimes and had 2 steals in this game. In addition, Georgia Tech snagged 34 boards (9 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Georgia Tech went 89.3% from the free throw line by making 25 of their 28 attempts. They also made 8 out of their 23 tries from beyond the perimeter. In regard to fouls, the Panthers left the arena with 20 while Georgia Tech finished the game with 17 fouls.

Jaland Lowe is one guy who was a major factor in the game. He finished the contest at 33.3% from the floor and distributed 8 dimes. He saw the court for 39 mins and also grabbed 2 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 25 points on 7 of 21 shooting.

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Pittsburgh heads into this one with a win-loss mark of 16-12 this year. They average 76.8 points per contest (103rd in Division 1) while hitting 45.6% from the floor. The Panthers are shooting 35.3% on three-point attempts (233 of 660) and 78.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Pittsburgh is pulling in 33.3 rebounds per contest and has earned 377 assists for the year, which has them ranked 212th in D-1 in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 9.8 times per contest and as a team they are committing 16.3 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Panthers are forcing their opponents into 12.3 turnovers per game and they draw 17.9 fouls. They currently rank 164th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 365 surrendered for the season. The Panthers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.9% (701 of 1,595) and they concede 34.1 boards per contest as a unit. They concede 35.1% on 3-pointers while they are 164th in Division 1 in points per game from their opponents (71.3).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Louisville Cardinals got the win with a final of 71-66 when they faced Virginia Tech. When it comes to cleaning up the glass, Louisville permitted Virginia Tech to collect 33 in all (9 offensive). They finished 42.3% from 3-point land via 11 of 26 and ended up going 5 out of 6 from the charity stripe (83.3%). The Cardinals allowed Virginia Tech to convert 25 of 58 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 43.1% in this matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Cardinals shot 28 for 62 from the floor which had them at 45.2%. With regard to 3-point attempts, Louisville converted 6 of 23 tries (26.1%). They were able to make 9 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 81.8%. Virginia Tech was called for 15 fouls for this game which got the Cardinals to the charity stripe for a total of 11 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while getting 9 steals for this contest. The Cardinals earned 23 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in this matchup.

Chucky Hepburn pitched in for the Cardinals for this game. He tallied 15 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and totaled 6 dimes for the contest. He knocked down 5 out of 12 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 41.7%, and added 2 rebounds.

Louisville has a win-loss record of 22-6 this year. The Cardinals commit 15.5 fouls per game and they go 74.7% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 14.4 times per game (129th in college hoops) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.3 times per game. Louisville has scored 2,227 pts for the season (79.5 per game) and they average 37.5 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Cardinals are connecting on 45.2% from the field, which is ranked 160th in D-1.

The Louisville defense allows 34.2% on 3-pointers (215 of 628) and their opponents are knocking down 70.5% of their free throw shots. They have given up 11.8 dimes and 32.9 rebounds per game, which ranks 65th and 91st in those categories. The Cardinals defensively are ranked 96th in college in PPG allowed with 69.3. They are forcing 13.4 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.6% from the field (167th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Pittsburgh

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