Three more regular-season games remain for Pitt before the ACC Tournament, and the slumping Panthers (who are 4-10 since Jan. 7) will need as strong of a showing as possible if any postseason aspirations are to be kept on life support.

Next week, contests against N.C. State and Boston College await the Panthers, but first, they hit the road for No. 19 Louisville on Saturday at KFC Yum! Center.

“We’ve got a really big one coming up,” Pitt point guard Jaland Lowe said of facing the Cardinals, who boast a 16-1 record since Dec. 21.

The Panthers (16-12, 7-10) and Cardinals (22-6, 15-2) are teams on very different trajectories as the end of the regular season approaches, with Louisville fighting for an ACC crown and NCAA Tournament appearance one season removed from an 8-24 campaign in 2023-24.

Overseeing one of the most impressive turnarounds in college basketball is first-year coach Pat Kelsey, who has his team on the verge of its first March Madness appearance since 2018-19.

Kelsey, who took Charleston to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments before replacing Kenny Payne at the helm in Louisville this season, was encouraged from the jump by the Cardinals’ potential.

“I thought from the very beginning, when we had our first team meeting and our guys came together, that there was just something,” he said earlier this week on the ACC coaches conference call. “There was a connection, there was a vibe, there was chemistry about them. I think it just started with the makeup of the individuals that were selfless about winning and about everything else secondary.”

That Louisville’s players have jelled so well together is all the more impressive considering the Cardinals are a totally new-look team.

In the aftermath of Payne’s firing, a predictable exodus of players ensued.

But Kelsey, upon getting settled, made excellent use of the transfer portal, bringing along two players from Charleston who have acclimated well to ACC hoops in Reyne Smith (14 points per game) and James Scott (7.3 points, 6.4 rebounds).

Additionally, he landed Chucky Hepburn, who leads Louisville with 15.6 points per game and 163 assists, from Wisconsin, as well as Jvonne Hadley from Colorado and Terrence Edwards from James Madison.

Noah Waterman (5.8 points per game) and Aboubacar Traore (5.5) have also been impactful transfers from Brigham Young and Long Beach State, respectively.

Plus, Kelsey’s inaugural recruiting class featured promising forward Kasean Pryor (South Florida), but he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in December.

“I don’t think there’s anyone on their roster that was there last year off the top of my head,” coach Jeff Capel noted on his weekly 93.7 FM radio show.

Despite the total roster reload, Louisville has continued to click, propelling Kelsey into the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award conversation.

“We had our trials and tribulations like every team has, and we’ve weathered those storms,” Kelsey said. “The guys have continued to stick together, and we’ve been about excellence every single day. It’s just always had a feel, in my heart, about the type of chemistry this team had.”

Pitt’s first matchup with Louisville on Jan. 11, a 82-78 defeat at Petersen Events Center, was one of many close-but-no-cigar losses suffered by the Panthers this season.

The game also did not feature an early hole, but rather, the Panthers leading by as many as eight points in the first half.

Down the stretch of the final half, Pitt was within a basket with 11 seconds to go before a Hepburn layup iced the game.

“That’s another one where we had a chance,” Capel said.

Lowe acknowledged that recent results for Pitt have been tough to navigate for those in and outside of the Panthers locker room.

But Saturday, against a quality opponent against whom Pitt had a respectable showing earlier in the season, Lowe and Co. will attempt to begin the final stretch of the regular season on a strong note.

“Just trying to hold it together and make sure everybody’s good,” Lowe said. “Just try to keep our heads high. We know it’s been tough, not for us but for everyone around here that’s been supporting us, also. … Stay positive, try to finish this regular season off well and then we’ve got the ACC Tournament coming up.”

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