The Panthers had a very poor showing Monday night against the Louisville Cardinals. The Cardinals took care of business at home beating the Panthers 64-61, snapping their three game losing streak.
Pitt opened up the game leading 9-6, but fell into a hole, as Louisville went on a 12-0 run. The Panthers went nearly five minutes without a field goal and trailed 32-26 at the half.
The second half had a decent finish and Pitt made a game out of it, but they couldn’t pull it off. The Panthers had some huge holes on defense which ended up hurting them as they let up several open dunks. Steven Adams, who had eight points, had a tough game down low as Gorgui Dieng got the better end of him.
James Robinson, who was quiet for the majority of the night, hit a big three to make it a one possession game with six minutes left. Lamar Patterson also hit a three to make it a three point game with a little over a minute left. Tray Woodall was sent to the line to shoot one-and-one but failed to make the front end which hurt the Panthers chances of cutting the lead. Woodall knocked down a couple of threes at the end, including a near half-court buzzer beater, but the Panthers were still unable to prevail against the slumping Cardinals.
Dieng played a fantastic game for the Cardinals, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 blocks. Russ Smith, was active, and played well picking up twenty points. Peyton Siva did his thing with ten assists.
On the Pitt end, Patterson (10) and Woodall (14) were the only players in double figures. Dante Taylor was 4 for 4 from the floor and played pretty well when he was given the chance in his brief eleven minutes.
The Panthers were hurt once again through free throws. They’ve struggled all year long with them and tonight wasn’t any exception. Knocking down nearly 50% of your three point attempts will help you stay in games, but going 3 for 12 from the free throw line will be a key component a loss.
The Panthers return home Saturday to face the #6 Syracuse Orange.
