The Louisville Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Panthers in Pittsburgh, PA. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Pittsburgh is favored by 4.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -205. The total is set at 150 points.
Here’s my Louisville vs. Pitt predictions and college basketball picks for January 11, 2025.
Louisville vs Pitt Prediction
My Pick: Pitt -4 (Play to -5)
My Louisville vs Pitt best bet is on the Panthers spread, with the best odds currently available at bet365. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Louisville vs Pitt Odds
| Louisville Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+4.5 -110 | 150 -110o / -110u | +170 |
| Pitt Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-4.5 -110 | 150 -110o / -110u | -205 |
- Louisville vs Pitt spread: Pitt -4.5
- Louisville vs Pitt over/under: 150 points
- Louisville vs Pitt moneyline: Pittsburgh -205, Louisville +170
- Louisville vs Pitt best bet: Pitt -4 (Play to -5)
Spread
I'm taking the Panthers on the spread at home up to -5.
Moneyline
There's no value on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I'm avoiding the total.
My Pick: Pitt -4 (Play to -5)
Louisville vs Pitt College Basketball Betting Preview
We know Duke is the best team in the ACC — and it’s not particularly close — but who’s the second-best squad?
Well, the winner of this game between Pitt and Louisville could make a legitimate case for that crown.
The Cardinals have dealt with injuries (losing Koren Johnson and Kasean Pryor for the season) and some turbulence (a blowout against Tennessee at home and a three-game losing streak). However, they have no bad losses and have already racked up two ACC road wins, along with a home victory over North Carolina.
Meanwhile, the Panthers also haven’t suffered any bad losses and have posted one Quad 1 victory (Ohio State) and two Quad 2 wins (West Virginia, LSU).
Pitt was just beaten by nearly 30 points by Duke, but that could be good news for the Panthers as they’ll be motivated to bounce back against another ACC “heavyweight” at home.
I think they'll get the job done and cover the spread in the process.
The Panthers don’t just have edge in the intangible department, though.
First, on offense, Pitt has steady, experienced guards in Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett, who will take care of the ball against senior defensive pest Chucky Hepburn. That will allow the Panthers to get into their offense without it being disjointed, or without allowing Louisville to score easy buckets in transition.
On the other end, Louisville only shoots 30% from downtown, which means the Cardinals may have to attack the bucket to consistently score on Pitt. That’s bad news against Jeff Capel’s team, which is 51st nationally in defensive near-proximity percentage, via Haslametrics.
Essentially, Louisville will have to hit shots from deep, and I can’t count on the Cardinals to do that given their lack of perimeter shotmakers beyond Reyne Smith.
Give me the motivated Panthers to cover and end Louisville’s five-game win streak.
