The Stanford Cardinal take on the Pittsburgh Panthers on Tuesday afternoon in an ACC Tournament college basketball matchup. The game tips off at 2:00 p.m. ET in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Cardinal are listed as 5.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total set at O/U 137.5 points. Below is my full preview, prediction and pick for this ACC Tournament college basketball matchup.
Stanford vs. Pittsburgh prediction, preview
The Stanford Cardinal take on the Pittsburgh Panthers in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The Cardinal are the No. 10 seed, while the Panthers are the No. 15 seed. Pittsburgh was the final team to make the ACC Tournament field. Only 15 of the 18 teams in the conference make the tournament, and Pittsburgh holds that final seed after going 5-13 in ACC play. Pitt secured that spot by beating Syracuse in overtime in its regular-season finale. So, the Panthers do have some good momentum coming into this game. Despite a rough season, the Panthers won three of their final five games heading into the postseason. Pittsburgh will try to keep its season alive for at least one more day with a win over Stanford.
Stanford has had a solid season, going 9-9 in ACC regular-season play. The Cardinal are firmly on the bubble heading into the conference tournament. In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, Stanford is among the First Four Out. At the very least, Stanford needs to win this game to have a chance of making the NCAA Tournament field. Stanford likely needs to win at least one more game after this to have a real shot, but a loss in this game would firmly eliminate the Cardinal. Stanford does have one of the keys to success in tournament play, and that is a superstar guard who can score in bunches. Freshman guard Ebuka Okorie was the highest-scoring player in the ACC this season. Okorie is averaging 23.1 points per game, just beating out Duke’s Cameron Boozer for that spot atop the ACC scoring charts. If Okorie plays his best basketball, Stanford could go on a run through this field.
Stanford vs. Pittsburgh pick
My best bet is on Stanford to cover as 5.5-point favorites. These teams faced off just about two weeks ago in California. Stanford won that game by eight points. Pittsburgh had absolutely no answer for Ebuka Okorie in that game. Okorie scored 34 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists. It was his third-highest scoring game this season. Okorie shot it well from beyond the arc, got to the free-throw line and all-around dominated Pittsburgh.
That win over Pittsburgh started off a four-game winning streak that Stanford carries into this game. The Cardinal knocked off NC State on the road in the regular-season finale on the back of a 33-point performance from Okorie. Stanford and Okorie have a ton of positive momentum coming into the ACC Tournament. Stanford also has the added motivation of knowing it can play its way into the NCAA Tournament with a couple of wins in this tournament. Okorie was too much for Pittsburgh the first time around and should dominate again, leading Stanford to a win and a cover against the Panthers.
