College Hoops Picks: Pittsburgh Panthers @ Louisville Cardinals

The top team in the nation takes on one of the preseason top teams as these two ranked Big East foes slug it out Saturday. Pittsburgh (No. 1 AP, No. 1 Coaches, 4-0, 16-0) sits atop the Big East and began the season ranked 10th, while Louisville (No. 20 AP, No. 20 Coaches, 3-0, 12-3) began the season ranked third and have slipped after some disappointing non-conference losses.

But Louisville reminded the college hoops nation on Monday why everyone should still respect them and not count them down and out just yet. They took Notre Dame to overtime and then outscored them 16-2 in the extra five minutes.

They suffered an embarrassing loss to Western Kentucky their third game of the season, but then rattled off five wins before succumbing to Tubby Smith's Golden Gophers. They then lost by one point to UNLV and then escaped Kentucky with a last second three.

Pittsburgh has found success this season by out-rebounding their opponents—the best example being when they took down Georgetown and out-rebounded them 43 to 17 (in fact, DeJuan Blair matched the Hoyas with 17 rebounds of his own).

The question becomes now which Louisville team is going to show up—will the Cardinal big men be able to matchup against Blair, or will they go the way of everyone else this season?

	Pittsburgh	Louisville
Record:	16-0	12-3
BE Record:	4-0	3-0
PF:	78.0	75.4
PA:	58.8	60.7
FG %	.478	.430
FT %	.656	.658
3P %	.355	.337
RPG	41.4	40.8
SPG	7.9	8.9
TO	11.5	13.1

Like most of the Big East matchups this season, there are no glaring differences between these teams. Louisville has an average winning margin of 15 points, while Pitt's is 20, but the Cardinals have two one-point games on their hands and another three point victory dragging down their average.

Pitt grabs an extra rebound per game but gets one fewer steal. The bottom line is that these are two good teams facing off and that either one has the potential to win outright.

Pittsburgh Key Players

DeJuan Blair (Sophomore, Forward)

Blair is averaging a double-double on the season with 14.7 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. He has played great basketball all season and has stacked up well against the Big East big men he has faced so far this season.

Sam Young (Senior, Forward)

Young is averaging a team-high 18.7 points per game and is shooting a dangerous .382 from beyond the arc. He has made a ton of eye-popping plays this season, and he continues to dominate the opposition all over the floor.

Louisville Key Players

Samardo Samuels (Freshman, Forward)

I said it when the Cardinals faced the Irish and I'll say it again—Samuels needs to avoid foul trouble if Louisville is going to be successful. In his last four games, he has fouled out once and grabbed four fouls three times.

He is averaging 13.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game, and he is going to have to bring is A-game if he wants to slow down Blair.

Terrence Williams (Senior, Forward)

Williams has played well so far this season. Against Notre Dame, he lead the Cardinals in points, rebounds, assists, and steals, and he is third on the points lists and first on the rebounds lists for Louisville.

Prediction

Current Line: Pitt -1.0

Pittsburgh ATS: 7-4
Louisville ATS: 7-7

Louisville is a strong team that has struggled to find their rhythm so far this season. While it may appear that they found it against Notre Dame in overtime, I think that their constant letting opponents back into games is going to catch up with them. And Pitt will not give them an inch.

The Cardinals will give the Panthers a run for their money, but they will not knock them off their pedestal yet.

Panthers -1.0.