Virginia @ Louisville preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 8, 2018 ) Louisville 58, Virginia 75

Virginia attempts to maintain at least a share of first place in the ACC on Saturday afternoon when it visits Louisville. The No. 3 Cavaliers are on a three-game winning streak which includes a rivalry win over Virginia Tech earlier this week, while the 22nd-ranked Cardinals have lost three of four after falling at Syracuse on Wednesday.

It was far from their best effort of the season but Virginia managed a 64-58 win over the Hokies on Monday, mostly thanks to Kyle Guy’s sharp shooting early in the game. "Kyle kept us in it with his 3-point shooting. ... We weren't sharp defensively. We were loose with the ball. ... We were too finesse, and then in the second half it turned in the right direction, but his banging shots - he had what, 17 in the first half? - that kept us in it because we were not doing the job," Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett told the media after the game. Louisville is stumbling at the wrong time of the season, with its latest setback coming in a 69-49 blowout loss to the Orange. "I think it's just a slump. All teams have that," senior guard Khwan Fore told reporters after the loss. "We've just got to keep working, put it behind us."

TV: Noon ET, ACC Network

ABOUT VIRGINIA (23-2, 11-2 ACC): Guy shot 8-of-15 from the field and 6-of-13 from long range to push his team-leading scoring average to 15.4 points. Ty Jerome added 16 on 6-of-10 shooting while dishing out six assists and De’Andre Hunter chipped in with 10. The Cavaliers uncharacteristically turned the ball over 13 times, however, and shot just 58.3 percent from the free-throw line.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (18-9, 9-5): The Cardinals hit season lows on offense against the Orange’s 2-3 zone defense, shooting just 25.9 percent from the floor and 21.4 percent from the 3-point line. Leading scorer Jordan Nwora tallied a team-high 11 points but shot just 3-of-13 from the field, while second-leading scorer Dwayne Sutton had just five points on 1-of-10 shooting. One of the only things the Cardinals did well was hit free throws, finishing 15-for-18 against the Orange to bring their ACC-leading average to 77.1 percent.

TIP-INS

1. Virginia leads the all-time series 12-3, including sweeping all three meetings last season.

2. The Cavaliers lead the nation in fewest points against per game at 54.6.

3. Virginia and Louisville will meet again in their regular-season finales on March 9.

PREDICTION: Virginia 68, Louisville 63