Pitt Men's Basketball: Panthers expect pressure from Louisville
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Levance Fields takes care of the ball better than any other point guard in the Big East Conference, judging by his miniscule number of turnovers for the season. Fields has turned the ball over 24 times in 16 games and is among Division I's leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio.
No. 1 Pitt (16-0, 4-0) will need every ounce of that expert ballhandling and decision-making when the Panthers take on No. 20 Louisville (12-3, 3-0) today at Freedom Hall.
Louisville loves to pressure teams and hurry them into turnovers, and it will be up to Fields to break the press and put the Panthers in position to score in transition or set up their half-court offense.
"You have to be patient, but at the same time you have to attack it," Fields said. "The more aggressive you play and attack, the more they'll ease up with it. In the past we've done a pretty good job with it.
"We just have to stick with what we need to do -- reversing the ball, make sure everyone gets to the open spot and meet the pass. If you don't meet the pass they'll run through every pass and try to get a steal and get the crowd into it."
Matchup: No. 1 Pitt (16-0, 4-0) vs. No. 20 Louisville (12-3, 3-0), 6 p.m. today, Freedom Hall, Louisville, Ky.
TV/Radio/Internet: ESPN, WWSW-FM (94.5), WBGG-AM (970), www.pittsburghpanthers.com.
Pitt: Remained perfect with a 75-62 victory against South Florida. ... Senior guard Fields had a career-high 13 assists and only one turnover against the Bulls. ... Sophomore center DeJuan Blair grabbed 18 rebounds, including nine offensive boards. He is Division I's leading offensive rebounder with 94. ... Senior forward Sam Young, the team's leading scorer with 18.7 points per game, has shot 9 for 29 from the field in the past two games. ... Split two games against Louisville last season, losing in the regular season and winning a Big East Conference tournament quarterfinal game.
Louisville: Won its fourth consecutive game with an 87-73 overtime victory against Notre Dame. ... Led by Samardo Samuels (13.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Earl Clark (13.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and Terrence Williams (12.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg). ... Rick Pitino, in his eighth season at Louisville, is the only coach to take three teams to the Final Four. He also took Providence and Kentucky.
Hidden stat: Louisville is undefeated when it leads at halftime and when leading with five minutes remaining.
Pitt has handled Louisville's pressure well for the most part, but on the one occasion the Panthers did not, and the Cardinals handed them their worst home loss at Petersen Events Center.
In February 2007, Louisville forced 19 turnovers and beat Pitt, 66-53. The Panthers handled the pressure better in two meetings against the Cardinals last season. Pitt had a season-low four turnovers in a 75-73 loss at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers committed 16 turnovers in a rematch in a Big East tournament quarterfinal game, but won in overtime, 76-69.
"We have handled it well," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "There was one game where we didn't. We have to take care of the ball as always no matter what team we play. It's more on the back end than the front end. The initial inclination is to talk about the backcourt and turnovers there, but it's about what you do at the back end of the press and not turning it over. That's the most important thing."
The reason Louisville was able to beat Pitt in the first meeting last season was the manner in which the Cardinals dissected the Panthers' defense. They shot 58 percent from the field.
Defense might be the bigger concern in this game, especially considering Pitt allowed South Florida to shoot 48 percent Wednesday in a 75-62 home victory. Louisville is averaging 73 points per game in its first three Big East games and is one of three remaining conference teams without a loss in league play.
"Our guys know we can play better on defense," Dixon said. "And we have to do that."
Louisville, ranked No. 3 in The Associated Press preseason poll, has won four consecutive games after a slump in late December that saw the Cardinals lose two of three games, including a home loss to UNLV. But the Cardinals finished the non-conference portion of their schedule by beating in-state rival Kentucky and have opened Big East play with victories against South Florida, Villanova and Notre Dame.
"They're starting to be the team people said they were going to be," Pitt sophomore guard Brad Wanamaker said. "They struggled early, but it's starting to look like they're becoming the team we all thought they would be."
Louisville coach Rick Pitino has built his team around a talented frontcourt. The top three scorers on the team are all forwards. Freshman Samardo Samuels leads the team with 13.9 points per game, but Earl Clark and Terrence Williams follow closely behind.
That trio also rebound extremely well. Clark and Williams each average more than nine rebounds per game.
Pitt leads the Big East in rebounding margin, but the Cardinals will represent the biggest test for the Panthers' frontcourt to date.
"They have a bundle of talent," Fields said. "They have guys who can play inside and out just like we do. They have depth. They've always been a tough team in the past for us. It's kind of a rivalry. We beat them at their gym and the last few years they beat us here. We want to keep that streak going [today]."
First Published January 17, 2009 12:00 am
