Men’s Basketball: Pitt still looking to end losing streak

Pitt and Louisville men’s basketball teams started the season ranked among the country’s top… Pitt and Louisville men’s basketball teams started the season ranked among the country’s top 10 teams, but injuries and off-court issues have derailed a promising season for both.

Pitt (11-8, 0-6) won 11 of its first 12 games, but a lack of experience in the backcourt brought on by junior starting point guard Travon Woodall’s groin injury — which has sidelined him for 11 games — and the departure of freshman center Khem Birch have sent head coach Jamie Dixon’s team on an unprecedented descent.

Dixon said that having to play athletes at different positions might be one factor contributing to his team’s offensive troubles.

That could change Saturday night.

Woodall, the team’s starting point guard before his injury against Duquesne on Nov. 30, participated in a full practice on Thursday. He said that he will decide today whether he feels healthy enough to play Saturday against Louisville.

“When I do come back, I want to be 100 percent — or at least 90 percent,” Woodall said. “I want to be able to help my team, both defensively and offensively.”

Pitt has had problems maintaining possession of the ball this year, especially in Woodall’s absence. The Panthers are averaging 15 turnovers per game in Big East play. Woodall said that watching his team struggle offensively has only increased his desire to return to the court.

“I’ve seen a lot of things that a lot of younger guys haven’t seen,” he said. “I’ve been here for some years now, so I’ve seen a bunch of things. But it’s definitely made me want to come back sooner.”

The prospect of playing against a conference rival in front of a nationally televised audience helps too, he said.

Typically, the presence of ESPN College GameDay at a Pitt-Louisville men’s basketball game makes sense. Both teams are perennial powerhouses in the Big East, and their meeting usually has implications of what to expect in March.

But in a year where not much has made sense for either team, Saturday night’s matchup between Pitt and Louisville is more for pride than an improved tournament seed.

Monday’s eight-point defeat at top-ranked Syracuse marked the Panthers’ seventh loss in as many games and continued Pitt’s reign as the only Big East team without a conference win.

“Shooting is one [problem],” Dixon said. “Anybody can figure that out. Just look at the numbers. At times it’s been shot selection, at other times it been execution and delivery of the ball.”

Pitt is shooting just under 46 percent from the field this season, but that number has been significantly lower during the last seven games.

Like Pitt, Louisville hasn’t quite lived up to preseason expectations. After winning their first 12 games, the Cardinals (14-5, 2-4) have dropped five of the last seven — including a 90-59 defacing at the hands of Providence.

Health issues have plagued the Cardinals all year. In fact, eight players have missed games this season because of injury.

The most recent casualty came in Monday’s loss to Marquette, when junior forward Rakeem Buckles suffered a torn ACL. The injury will force him to miss the rest of the season — bad news for an already-thin roster. Louisville’s starting five accounted for 173 of the team’s 200 minutes against the Golden Eagles.

But Dixon isn’t looking past the Louisville players who are healthy.

“I don’t really think that they have a limited bench,” Dixon said. “Their depth is really something that stands out moreso than that they have an injury or two.”

Redshirt sophomore Lamar Patterson agreed. He said that his team has been practicing for things that have caused them trouble against Louisville in the past — especially the full-court press.

“We practiced being pressured, beating it and attacking it instead of being tentative against it,” he said. “That’s led to some of our turnovers.”

Both Dixon and Patterson said that they expect the home-court advantage to help as well.

“I heard it’s going to be pretty loud in here for College GameDay,” Patterson said. “The crowd is a huge factor. We’re at home. We’re going to protect our home court.”