In order to be considered a serious threat in the tournament, the average college basketball team needs to be able to show that they can hang with the big boys. As much as the #9 ranked Louisville Cardinals (19-4, 7-3) would like to consider themselves as one of the elite teams heading into the tournament, you have to consider that they are now just 2-4 against ranked teams this season. Date: February 11th, 2015 8:00PM Venue: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky NCAAB Odds: Louisville -13.5

Game Preview and Betting Analysis

The good news for Louisville is that they only have one ranked opponent left to play this regular season, which means that they have a legitimate shot of entering March Madness with a top 10 ranking. Their final stretch of games for the season begins on Wednesday night when the Pittsburgh Panthers (16-8, 5-5) roll into town. Louisville are going to have to find a way to pick themselves up after losing 47-52 to #2 ranked Virginia over the weekend, which was a loss that snapped a 4-game winning streak that had been built on the heels of a loss to Duke. They can take heart from the fact that the first game in that streak was a dominant performance on the road versus the team that they will be facing on Wednesday.

This is not going to be a walk in the Park for the Cardinals, though, as Pittsburgh are riding a 3-game win streak that started with an upset win over Notre Dame. Pittsburgh appears to have discovered their scoring touch over the last three games, averaging 77 PPG, which is well above their season average of 68.5 PPG. They are going to have to try and find a way to continue that trend against a Cardinals team that is giving up just 58.5 PPG. The spark is likely to come from sophomore Jamel Artis, who has chipped in 72 points over the course of those last three outings. The Panthers certainly have what it takes to spring the upset here, especially if they continue with this rich vein of form. Key Betting Trends Louisville is 6-11-1 ATS in its last 18 games Louisville is 19-3 SU in its last 22 games Louisville is 14-7 ATS in its last 21 games on the road Louisville is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road Pittsburgh is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games Pittsburgh is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games at home

What Should Bettors Look Out For?

These two teams squared off last month, and it was Louisville coming up with an 80-68 win on the road in that one. The Panthers are playing better ball than they were back then, but they are still in for a tough go of it in Louisville. I like the Cardinals to come up with a similar type of win this time around.