NCAA Basketball Picks: Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Louisville Cardinals

Rick Pitino has had a hard time watching his Louisville Cardinals (16-4) over their last three games, which he will likely remind them of as they prepare to host the Pittsburgh Panthers (17-4) on Monday night, with the opening tip at the KFC Yum! Center scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Sports bettors will find that the Cardinals are six-point home favorites in the college basketball odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total stands at 123 in the market.

Let's take a closer look at this Big East Conference matchup from a betting perspective, while offering up an against-the-spread pick along the way. 

Pittsburgh Panthers

The Pittsburgh Panthers have won four games in a row, including a 93-55 victory over DePaul as 16-point home favorites on Saturday, which served as the program's largest margin of victory during regular-season play as a member of the Big East Conference.

Sports bettors will find that the Panthers are 2-0 against the spread when playing with one or fewer day's rest this season. 

Louisville Cardinals

The Louisville Cardinals have sputtered offensively, losing three straight games and combining to score just 183 points in that span.

It's very important for this squad to force its opponents into making mistakes, as 32 percent of its scoring has come off turnovers this year.

Sports bettors will find that the Cardinals are 1-7 against the spread in their last eight opportunities as home favorites of 6.5 to nine points.  

Prediction

I'm going to recommend that readers back the Pittsburgh Panthers as one of their NCAA basketball picks on Monday night, as they've compiled a solid 8-5 against-the-spread record as an underdog over the last two-plus seasons.

NCAA Basketball Pick: Pittsburgh Panthers +6 

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