Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Virginia Tech

Take a look at how the Cardinals stack up against the Hokies for their Saturday matchup, and who the statistical models favor:

Jan 2, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward Sananda Fru (13) goes for a layup during the first half against Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Justine Willard-Imagn Images | Justine Willard-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville (13-5, 3-3 ACC) is set to face Virginia Tech (15-5, 4-3 ACC) on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 2:15 p.m. EST at the KFC Yum! Center. Here's how the Cardinals stack up against the Hokies:

*Mobile users can scroll left and right on the tables below*

Rankings

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
AP/USAT	NR/NR	23rd/21st
SOS	54th	40th
SOR	44th	35th
NET	49th	15th
RPI	25th	38th
BPI	71st	8th
KenPom	56th	16th
Torvik	53rd	14th
EvanMiya	58th	18th

Team Leaders

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
Points	Amani Hansberry (15.5)	Ryan Conwell (19.8)
Rebounds	Toibu Lawal (9.3)	Sananda Fru (6.9)
Assists	Neoklis Avdalas (5.1)	Mikel Brown Jr. (5.1)
Steals	Ben Hammond (1.9)	Ryan Conwell (1.4)
Blocks	Toibu Lawal (1.5)	Sananda Fru (1.2)

Scoring

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
Points Per Game	82.0	87.9
Field Goal %	45.8	46.9
FGM/FGA Per Game	28.2/61.5	29.4/62.6
Three Point %	23.6	35.1
3PTM/3PTA Per Game	8.1/23.6	11.9/33.9
Free Throw %	72.5	77.2
FTM/FTA Per Game	17.7/24.4	17.3/22.4

Rebounding

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
Rebounds Per Game	36.5	41.3
Off. Reb. Per Game	11.5	12.5
Def. Reb. Per Game	25.0	28.8
Rebound Margin	0.4	7.6

Defense

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
Opp. Points Per Game	74.1	69.6
Opp. FG%	43.0	39.3
Opp. 3PT%	29.5	32.1
Steals Per Game	7.2	7.3
Blocks Per Game	3.6	3.4
Turnovers Forced Per Game	13.2	12.6

Ball Handling

	Virginia Tech	Louisville
Assists Per Game	14.5	17.9
Turnovers Per Game	10.3	11.3
Turnover Margin	2.9	1.3
Assist/Turnover Ratio	1.41	1.58

Predictions

- ESPN Prediction: Per ESPN's Basketball Power Index, the Cardinals have a 92.8 percent chance to win against the Hokies. Louisville has a BPI rating of 20.5 (8th overall), whereas Virginia Tech has a BPI rating of 8.4 (71st overall).

- KenPom Prediction: Per KenPom.com, the Cardinals have an 85 percent chance to take down the Hokies, with a projected final score of 86-74 in favor of UofL. Louisville has an adjusted efficiency margin of +26.10 (16th overall), whereas Virginia Tech has an adjusted efficiency margin of +14.32 (56th overall).

- Torvik Prediction: Per BartTorvik.com, the Cards have an 88 percent chance to take down the Hokies, with a projected final score of 87-73 in favor of UofL. Louisville has a "Barthag" of .9462 (14th overall), whereas Virginia Tech has a "Barthag" of .8096 (53rd overall).

- Personal Prediction: Louisville 88, Virginia Tech 77.

(Photo of Sananda Fru: Justine Willard - Imagn Images)

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