Louisville still has a way to go to recover the offensive execution it had earlier in the year, but, tonight against Pitt Louisville played the kind of defense we're used to seeing it play in a grinding win over Pitt, 59-41. The Panthers entered the game with the second most efficient offense in the nation, according to KenPom.com. In the first half alone, the Cardinals forced Pitt into more turnovers (11) than it averaged per game coming in (10). By game's end, Louisville had forced a very controlled Pitt team into 19 turnovers compared to 4 assists.
This degree of defensive dominance without having Mangok Mathiang and without anyone getting into significant foul trouble was particularly encouraging.
Chinanu Onuaku continued his emergence as Louisville's most difficult player to guard. He once again displayed finesse, scoring with more than one mid-range jumper, and power working both into the middle with his right hand and going baseline for a dunk.
With the win, Louisville improves to 3-1 in ACC play