1. Pitt has struggled all season with free throws, and are 256th in FT% nationally. But those struggles were particularly acute vs Louisville, as the Panthers only made 3-12 (25%) for the game. It was the first time this season they made less than half their FTs.
2. After the win, Louisville is now 17-4, 5-3. This team began the season 16-1 before losing three in a row. The win against Pitt snapped that losing streak.
3. Russ Smith gets all of the attention for being Russ Smith. And last night was no different – Smith scored 20 points. But Gorgui Dieng took fewer than half the number of shots that Smith did, and scored 14 points. He also had 12 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 assists.
4. The Cardinals asssisted on 18 of 23 made baskets (78.3%). It was their 2nd highest assist rate of the season, just behind their 78.6% vs Miami (OH).
5. Louisville won 64-61, which sounds like a defensive game. But this game was played at a crawling pace and only featured 57 possessions. It was only the second time in eight conference games that a team scored more than a point per possession vs Louisville, and just the fourth time all year.
