Two of the best teams in the ACC square off on Saturday as the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers head to Louisville for a showdown with the No. 18 Cardinals.
The ACC has been a dominant conference in 2019, with a slew of national title contenders jockeying for position atop the league. While most of the attention has gone to Duke and its high-flying freshmen, Virginia has quietly put together another excellent season.
The Cavaliers are known for their dominant defense, and that has continued this year. Entering play today, Virginia leads the country in total defense, allowing just 54.6 points per game.
Virginia used the pack line D to grind out a 64-58 win over in-state rival Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Kyle Guy was the offensive star for Virginia, putting up a game-high 23 points while going 6-13 from beyond the arc.
The game is more important for Louisville, which is in a bit of a funk after dropping three of their last four games. The Cards were absolutely drilled by Syracuse on Wednesday, losing by 20 at the Carrier Dome and shooting just 25.9 percent against the Orange’s 2-3 zone.
Getting fooled by the zone isn’t the end of the world on its own, but the Cards have been a bit shell-shocked since blowing a 23-point lead against Duke two weeks ago.
A one point win over Clemson last Saturday is the only thing separating Louisville from a four-game losing streak, so they will need to step up their play if they want to beat a very disciplined Virginia team.
How to watch Virginia vs. Louisville
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 23
- Time: 12 p.m. ET
- Location: Louisville, KY
- Venue: KFC Yum Center
- TV: ACC Network
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
This is the first of two matchups this season between the Cavaliers and Cardinals. Louisville will make the return trip to Charlottesville on March 9, with the game serving as the regular season finale for both teams.