Virginia @ Louisville preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2019 ) Louisville 68, Virginia 73

Louisville has been on a tear the past months since losing consecutive games to Kentucky and Florida State, but it will be playing a team Saturday that has dominated them in recent years. The Cardinals seek a 10th straight win overall and hope to snap a nine-game losing streak to reigning national champion Virginia when the Cavaliers visit this weekend in an ACC contest.

The Cardinals extended their longest winning streak in ACC play to nine games in Wednesday's 87-76 victory against Wake Forest with a big 52-point second half after a lackluster first 20 minutes. "We certainly responded after halftime. I thought the first seven to eight minutes of the second half we were a completely different team," Louisville coach Chris Mack said. "Frustrating, but we got to figure that out, same thing with the turnovers. We got nine in the first half and two in the second. Your guess is as good as mine. We better rectify that quickly or it's going to (come back to bite us)." Virginia dropped four of five games during a rough stretch last month but bounced back with wins over Wake Forest, Florida State and Clemson, earning a spot as one of the "Last Four In" in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN's Joe Lunardi. The Cavaliers held Clemson to 14 points in the first half and limited the Tigers to 32.7 percent shooting overall in Wednesday's 51-44 victory.

TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT VIRGINIA (15-6, 7-4 ACC): Braxton Key scored a season-high 19 points, drained 4-of-6 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds, while Mamadi Diakite added 13 points, eight boards and two blocks as the Cavaliers posted a three-game winning streak for the first time since starting the season 7-0. As of Feb. 7, Virginia ranks first in the nation in scoring defense (50.4) and field-goal percentage defense (35.6), third in personal fouls per game (13.3) and 16th in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (28.9). Kihei Clark (9.8 points, 6.0 assists) chipped in a game-high 10 assists as Virginia matched a season low with eight turnovers, while Jay Huff (8.5 points, 6.2 rebounds) collected his third double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (20-3, 11-1): Jordan Nwora (19.3 points, 7.4 rebounds) had 21 points, drained five 3-pointers and scored the go-ahead basket during an 20-2 second-half run as the Cardinals rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit for the win over the Demon Deacons. Louisville made a season-high 14-of-28 3-pointers. Dwayne Sutton (9.1 points, 8.5 rebounds) added 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Lamarr Kimble (5.1 points) added 14 points.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Virginia is 15-4 all-time against Louisville. The last time Louisville beat the Cavaliers was 2015.

2. Virginia is 2-1 against ranked opponents, with both wins coming against top-10 foes (then-No. 7 North Carolina and then-No. 5 Florida State).

3. The Cardinals are shooting 45.3 percent beyond the arc in ACC contests - easily tops in the league. Virginia is last in league games at 27 percent.

PREDICTION: Louisville 56, Virginia 50