Game Preview: Virginia Basketball vs. Louisville

Following each of Virginia's first seven losses this season, the Cavaliers have bounced back to win their next game. The Hoos will look to keep that trend going on Monday night, as they try to put Saturday's 77-63 loss at NC State behind them and pick up a crucial victory at home against Louisville. .

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (11-8, 5-4) vs. Louisville Cardinals (11-8, 5-4)

When: Monday, January 24th at 7pm

Where: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia

How to watch: ESPN

All-time series: Virginia leads 17-5

Last meeting: Virginia defeated Louisville 68-58 on March 6th, 2021 in Charlottesville.

By the Numbers

Virginia	By the Numbers	Louisville
62.5	Points Per Game	69.3
59.7	Opponent PPG	67.8
44.9%	Field Goal %	42.5%
42.0%	Opponent FG %	41.1%
33.3%	Three-Point FG %	32.0%
35.5%	Opponent 3PT FG %	32.8%
-21	Rebounding Margin	+62
+26	Turnover Margin	-20
100th	NET Ranking	113th
122nd	RPI	99th

Opponent Breakdown: Louisville

Notable results: Navy (77-60 W), Mississippi State (72-58 W), Maryland (63-55 W), Michigan State (73-64 L), NC State (73-68 W), Wake Forest (73-69 W), Georgia Tech (67-64 W), Pittsburgh (75-72 W), Florida State (79-70 L), Notre Dame (80-72 L)

Much like the majority of the ACC this season, Louisville has had its ups and downs. The Cardinals have looked great at times this year, picking up impressive victories against Wake Forest and Maryland. But, they have struggled lately, losing four of their last five games, including an 82-70 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday.

Louisville has only two players barely averaging in double figures in scoring: Noah Locke (10.5 ppg) and Malik Williams (10.0 ppg). Williams is also third in the ACC in rebounding at 8.6 rebounds per game. Lacking a dominant scorer, depth and balance are key for the Cardinals, who have eight players averaging at least five points per game and nine players averaging at least 16 minutes played per game.

Louisville is second to last in the ACC in team field goal percentage at 42.5%, but the Cardinals have the third-best defense in the ACC in terms of opponent field goal percentage at 41.1%. Louisville is also one of the few teams in the ACC whose three-point field goal percentage (32.0%) is lower than that of the Cavaliers.

What to Watch For

Not a lot of threes

Virginia and NC State shocked everyone on Saturday when the two teams, who are not particularly known for shooting outside shots, made it rain at the PNC Arena and made a combined 22 three-pointers. It is unlikely that we will see a repeat of that anomaly on Monday night at JPJ, as we do not expect many threes to be attempted or made by two teams who rank towards the bottom in the conference in three-point field goal percentage. This battle will be won and lost inside the arc.

Malik Williams vs. Virginia's bigs

UVA's centers Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro have struggled to stay out of foul trouble all season. Matchups with the skilled bigs of the ACC have frequently given Tony Bennett headaches, trying to move Shedrick and Caffaro in and out of the game to keep them from fouling out. Malik Williams is the ACC's third-leading rebounder and, while not many of his rebounds come from offensive rebounds, it would not be surprising if Chris Mack notices UVA's weakness in this area and encourages Williams to be aggressive in the low post and on the offensive glass.

Desperation time?

The Cavaliers and Cardinals are both coming off of losses on Saturday, share the same conference and overall record, and are tied for seventh in the ACC standings. Even though it is still only January, both teams know that time is quickly running out for them to string wins together in a last-ditch attempt at crafting a postseason resume. The winner of this game will maintain a small chance at cracking the NCAA Tournament, but the loser will likely view March Madness from a couch this year.

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