Louisville @ Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2019 ) Virginia 64, Louisville 52

No. 2 Virginia, known as a defensive juggernaut in the 10 years that coach Tony Bennett has been at the helm, may be finding its offensive touch at exactly the right time. The Cavaliers, who have designs on a second straight ACC regular-season title and fourth in six years, seek an eighth straight win and a ninth consecutive against Louisville when they host the Cardinals in the regular-season finale on Saturday.

Virginia, which last season became the first No. 1 seed to lose a first-round game in the NCAA Tournament because it could only muster 54 points in a 20-point loss to Maryland-Baltimore County, is tied for the top spot in the ACC with third-ranked North Carolina one game clear of No. 4 Duke. The Cavaliers matched a school record with 18 3-pointers in 25 attempts in a 79-53 win at Syracuse on Monday night - its third straight game of at least 73 points after cracking 70 just once in its previous seven contests - as Kyle Guy connected on 8-of-10 and De'Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome combining for the team's other 10 3-pointers. "Those guys were terrific in the second half. There were probably three or four incredibly deep threes. I think that Kyle was looking at the ground when he shot those," Bennett mused afterward. "That was impressive. And then to have all three of them get that hot was good and then they combined it with really good defense in the second half." Louisville, with a spot safely secured in the NCAA Tournament and tied for sixth in the ACC, topped Notre Dame 75-61 on Sunday to end a three-game losing streak, getting 20 points from Jordan Nwora and 16 and a career high-tying 13 rebounds from Malik Williams.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (19-11, 10-7 ACC): After shooting a combined 30 percent and being outrebounded twice during the recent skid, the Cardinals outboarded the Fighting Irish 49-30, contributing to an 18-4 edge in second-chance points and 46-26 advantage inside the paint. Nwora, a 6-7 sophomore, leads the team in scoring (17.2 points), rebounding (7.7), 3-pointers (68) and free throws made (97) and is the second-most improved scorer in the nation, increasing his scoring average from 5.7 points a season ago. Christen Cunningham (10.1 points, 5.0 assists), who leads the ACC in assists in conference-only games (6.3), has helped the Cardinals rank fifth in the ACC in scoring offense for conference games (72.1 points) and 36th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency for the whole season.

ABOUT VIRGINIA (27-2, 15-2): Guy finished with 25 points, Hunter scored 21 on 5-of-7 beyond the arc and Jerome had 16 points on 5-of-6 from 3-point range and added a school record-tying 14 assists and four steals. Hunter, who is averaging a career-high 15.4 points and 5.3 rebounds and ranks third in the ACC in field goal percentage (54.7 percent), has been named one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award, while Guy (15.4 points, team-high 94 3-pointers) has been named one of the five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Virginia leads the nation in scoring defense (54.1), 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.9) and fewest turnovers per game (9.2), and is second in scoring margin (plus-18.0), second in field-goal percentage defense (37.3) and fourth in 3-point field-goal percentage (41.4).

TIP-INS

1. Virginia leads the series 14-4, including a 64-52 victory on Feb. 23. The Cavaliers overcame a 10-point halftime deficit as Hunter finished with 26 points and Nwora 17.

2. The Cavaliers' ability to win the ACC outright will likely depend on whether North Carolina can win at home against Duke at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Virginia owns the tiebreaker by virtue of its 69-61 victory over the Tar Heels on Feb. 11.

3. In the Cardinals’ 17 ACC games, Williams (8.5 points, 6.6 rebounds) and Steven Enoch (9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds) have combined to average 18.0 points and 11.6 rebounds while splitting the time at center.

PREDICTION: Virginia 74, Louisville 60