Louisville, Pitt confident in strong ACC starts ahead of clash

Confidence is a "powerful thing," Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said. And the Cardinals are swimming in it. Then again, so too is Pitt.

This makes Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference matchup between Louisville and the host Panthers a pivotal moment in the early stages of the conference schedule.

Louisville (11-5, 4-1 ACC) and Pitt (12-3, 3-1) are two of five teams with a single loss in the ACC. The Cardinals ride a five-game winning streak, already logging three more wins than they did all of last season.

"We've always had really good chemistry," Kelsey said, "but you can just kind of feel the pieces coming together, the confidence. ... You just feel it, the momentum, rolling a little bit."

The Cardinals boast four active players averaging at least 11 points, including Chucky Hepburn (15.1) and Terrence Edwards Jr. (13.1). However, those two have struggled over the past two games, combining to shoot just 8-for-40 from the field and 2-of-17 from 3-point range.

Fortunately, Louisville runs relatively deep, as shown by J'Vonne Hadley posting a career-high 32 points on Tuesday in a 74-64 win over Clemson. As Kelsey put it, "We can hurt you in a lot of ways."

Pitt, winner in five of its last six, has won 15 straight at home dating back to last season. And while the Panthers are coming off a 29-point loss at No. 4 Duke, the team is off to its best start in eight seasons.

Ishmael Legget (16.8 points) and Jaland Lowe (16.7) provide instant offense for Pitt, which has defeated Louisville five straight times.

"Ish has been one of our two best players all year long," Pitt coach Jeff Capel said, adding that "he's a guy that can go on spurts by himself scoring."

While recent history is on the side of the Panthers, they will have to shake off their second loss of at least 29 points this season. They've done it before, beating Virginia Tech after a 33-point loss to Mississippi State.

"Hopefully we can regroup and do that," Capel said. "We learn from it and move on and get prepared for the next one."

--Field Level Media