Louisville Falls to Virginia in Regular Season Finale
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Capping off the 2021-22 regular season with a senior day matchup against Virginia, the Louisville men's basketball program was unable to send the seniors out on a high note, falling 71-61 at the KFC Yum! Center Saturday.
The Cardinals end the regular season at 12-18 overall and 6-14 in conference play, and fall to 2-14 against the Cavaliers (18-12, 12-8 ACC) since joining the ACC. The program also suffers back-to-back senior day losses for the first time since 1995-96.
Despite shooting 34.8 percent on three-point attempts, Louisville shot just 40.0 percent from the field, while simultaneously allowing Virginia to shoot 51.0 percent and 7-12 on threes.
Once again, Sydney Curry put together an amazing performance, pouring in 24 points and 14 rebounds for his third career double-double. Malik Williams also had 10 points and seven boards, while UVA's Kadin Shedrick came off the bench to lead all scorers with 20 points.
Unlike the previous two games, Louisville actually had a solid start against Virginia. They scored the first eight points of the game, and through the first 4:38, lead 10-2, were shooting 4-7 and held UVa to 0-4 from the field.
But after that point, it was all UVa. The Cardinals scored just seven points for the rest of the half, connected on only three field goals, while the Cavaliers then went on a 15-22 shooting stretch. Trailing 36-17 at the half, it was their largest home deficit at halftime since Feb. 11, 2001, when they were down 51-31 to Charlotte.
Coming out of halftime, Louisville showed much more energy and life than they had in the entire first half, going on a 12-3 run to pull within 10 points.
But even with the renewed energy and effort, the Cardinals had trouble getting over the hump. Thanks to a slight shooting lull, and surprisingly hot Cavalier three-point shooting, Virginia was able to make it a 17-point game with roughly seven minutes to go.
Even in the face of getting blown out for the third straight game, Louisville didn't quit. In fact, they were able to make it a seven-point game with 3:31 left after sinking seven consecutive field goals. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Cardinals could get it, missing three of their final four shots.
Next up, Louisville will head to Brooklyn, N.Y. for the ACC Tournament. Their first day of action will be on Tuesday, Mar. 8, with seeding, tip-off time and opponent draw to be determined later this afternoon.
(Photo of Malik Williams, Noah Locke, Kody Stattmann: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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