×

Hoops du Jour

Men: Louisville at Pitt

SATURDAY

Tipoff: Noon, Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh

Records: Louisville (11-5, 4-1 ACC); Pittsburgh (12-3, 3-1 ACC)

TV: ESPN2 (Matt Schumacker and Randolph Childress

Notable: Pitt has won the last five meetings with Louisville by double figures … The Panthers have won 15 straight games at home … Pitt lost its last game, at Duke, 76-47 … Louisville, under first-year coach Pat Kelsey, has won five straight and already has more wins (11) than last season’s 8-24 mark … The Cardinals have beaten Indiana, West Virginia and Clemson this season. Their five losses are to Tennessee, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Duke and Kentucky … Wisconsin 6-foot-2 transfer Chucky Hepburn (15.1 ppg.), 6-6 James Madison transfer Terrence Edwards (13.1 ppg.) and 6-6 Colorado transfer J’Vonne Hadley (11.6 ppg., 7.9 rpg.) lead Louisville with 6-2 College of Charleston transfer Reyne Smith (12.8 ppg.) coming off the bench.

Mirror prediction: Pitt 77, Louisville 74

Mirror prediction record: 13-2

— Buck Frank

Women: Le Moyne at SFU

SATURDAY

Tipoff: 4 p.m., DeGol Arena, Loretto

Records: Le Moyne (0-15 overall, 0-2 Northeast Conference); Saint Francis (3-13, 1-2).

TV: NEC Front Row

Notable: In two meetings, the series is tied at 1-1. … The Red Flash are shooting 63-percent from the foul line. … SFU had just two second chance points Thursday against FDU. … The Dolphins closest game this year was a five point loss to Boston University on Dec. 5. … Le Moyne assistant coach Katie Kolinski made history in 2016 when she became the first female graduate assistant coach to join the Syracuse men’s basketball staff.

Mirror prediction: Saint Francis 63, Le Moyne 52

Mirror prediction record: 14-2

— Nate Ritchey

Men: Oregon at Penn State

SUNDAY

Tipoff: 4 p.m., Jordan Center, University Park

Records: Oregon (14-2, Big Ten 3-2); Penn State (12-4, Big Ten 2-3)

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Penn State Sports Network

Satellite: Sirius XM

Notable: Oregon is ranked 15th in the country, and is coming off a two-point win at Ohio State. … The Ducks two losses are both at home, to UCLA and to Illinois, which won by 32 points. … The Ducks are 7-0 on the road. … The top two scorers are Nate Bittle (13.9 ppg.) and Jackson Shelstad (12.3 ppg.). They have six other players averaging between 6-9 points. … Penn State is coming off a blowout loss at Illinois in which leading scorer Ace Baldwin Jr. (13.9 ppg.) did not score a point. The Nittany Lions may need more offense from Zach Hicks (12.1), Nick Kern (12.3) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.3). … Oregon gives up just 69.5 points-per game. … Sunday’s game is also the Coaches vs. Cancer game as well as “Alumni Day.”

Mirror prediction: 12-4

Mirror prediction record: Oregon 71, Penn State 67

— Scott Franco

Women: Penn State at USC

SUNDAY

Tipoff: 8 p.m., Galen Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

Records: Penn State (9-7, 0-5 in Big Ten); USC (15-1, 5-0 in Big Ten)

TV: Big Ten Network

Notable: USC’s only loss was to Notre Dame on Nov. 23. … The teams met for the first time last season with USC winning, 71-70. … USC is ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25, but it doesn’t get easier for the Lady Lions on this trip as they play at No. 1 UCLA on Wednesday. … Gracie Merkle (16.8), Gabby Elliott (11.8) and Moriah Murray (11.7) are all averaging double figures for Penn State this season. … JuJu Watkins, one of the top players in the country, is averaging 24.9 points per game for USC.

Mirror prediction: USC 98, Penn State 61

Mirror prediction record: 15-1

— Michael Boytim

Men: Saint Francis at FDU

SUNDAY

Tipoff: 1 p.m. Bogata Savings Bank Area, Teaneck, N.J.

Records: Fairleigh Dickinson (5-11, 1-0 Northeast); Saint Francis (6-11, 1-2 Northeast)

TV: NEC Front Row (Pat Farabaugh, play-by-play; Bernie Jubeck, color analyst)

Notable: FDU is paced by Terrance Brown, averaging 21.6 ppg and 6.1 rpg, while also leading the team in steals (32). … The Knights improved to 2-0 in NEC play Friday night with a win at Le Moyne, 91-86, in 2OT. … SFU sophomore Bobby Rosenberger III has scored 19 points or more four times this season, including three times at home. Last season, he reached 19 points three times, and two of those games were also at home. The only two times the sophomore had 19 points or more on the road was at Penn State on November 14, 2023, and 20 points at Georgetown on November 23, 2024. The game against Stonehill marked the first time the Red Flash lost a game when Rosenberger had at least 19 points against a team that was not a Power 5 team.

Mirror prediction: Fairleigh Dickinson 79, Saint Francis 72

Mirror prediction record: 15-2

— Dan Isenberg

Pinedo leads Red Flash to victory

LORETTO — Valentino Pinedo had 18 points in Saint Francis 3-59 win over Mercyhurst on Friday night in a Northeast Conference game.

Pinedo also contributed six rebounds for the Red Flash (6-11, 1-2 NEC). Jeremy Clayville added 17 points while shooting 6 for 11, including 3 for 8 from beyond the arc with five assists.

Riley Parker had 13 points and went 5 of 11 from the field (2 for 5 from 3-point range).

Bernie Blunt led the Lakers (7-11, 1-2) in scoring, finishing with 13 points. Shemar Rathan-Mayes added 11 points and three steals for Mercyhurst. Jake Lemelman had 10 points.

The Red Flash, who were up 32-28 at halftime, play at Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday.

MERCYHURST (7-11): Jusianiec 3-7 0-0 9, Planutis 3-12 1-2 7, Reichert 2-11 2-2 6, Blunt 5-7 0-0 13, Rathan-Mayes 3-8 4-4 11, Lang 1-2 0-0 2, Lemelman 4-9 1-2 10, Ivanauskas 0-1 1-2 1, Gamble 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 9-12 59.

ST. FRANCIS (6-11): Pinedo 8-11 2-2 18, Clayville 6-11 2-2 17, Kelly 1-4 0-0 3, Parker 5-11 1-2 13, Rosenberger 4-8 1-3 10, Cranford 3-4 2-2 9, Harris 1-1 1-2 3, Webb 0-0 0-0 0, Swain 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-50 9-13 73.

Halftime_St. Francis 32-28. 3-Point Goals_Mercyhurst 8-25 (Blunt 3-5, Jusianiec 3-6, Rathan-Mayes 1-1, Lemelman 1-4, Gamble 0-1, Lang 0-1, Reichert 0-2, Planutis 0-5), St. Francis 8-21 (Clayville 3-8, Parker 2-5, Cranford 1-2, Kelly 1-3, Rosenberger 1-3). Fouled Out–Jusianiec. Rebounds–Mercyhurst 26 (Reichert 12), St. Francis 32 (Pinedo, Parker, Rosenberger 6). Assists–Mercyhurst 10 (Rathan-Mayes 3), St. Francis 16 (Parker 6). Total Fouls–Mercyhurst 15, St. Francis 14. A–665

From Mirror, wire reports

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today