By Harry Barsan
Louisville will face the Virginia Cavaliers just two weeks removed of a 20-point drubbing of the Cavs in Charlottesville.
Since joining the ACC in 2014, the Cards have never swept Virginia despite playing them twice every year.
Crashing Cavs
Since their last meeting, Virginia has gone winless on their way to a four-game losing-streak, three being double-digit losses (including against Louisville).
They really only looked competitive in a 54-52 home-loss against a decent SMU team, one which they very nearly won save for a buzzer-beating shot.
One of the most shocking stats is how Virginia has not won a half since coming back against NC State on New Year’s Eve.
In all three games after Louisville, the Cavs have had a round-robin of leading scorers, with Isaac McKneely and Andrew Rohde leading the charge more often than not.
In spite of being the second-leading scorer, Elijah Saunders has had a rough go of things during their current slump. Saunders is still Virginia’s most athletics player, so he cannot be ignored on the defensive end.
Perhaps the biggest sign of the direction this Cavs team is headed is their rebounding numbers. For what is often seen as the quintessential “effort stat,” Virginia has gotten out-rebounded 155 to 111 through their previous four games.
Rising Cards
Louisville has been on the complete opposite side of the scale, blowing out some solid teams in their current winning-streak.
Despite shooting a season low 19 threes, the Cards connected on seven to put up a very respectable 70 points against a painfully slow Virginia team.
The whole team has been eating good, as five different Cards put up 10-plus in the Syracuse victory.
Aboubacar Traore had a very nice game earlier against Virginia. He tied for the team’s lead in scoring with 15 points, so watch out for him to get hot again if he gets some serious minutes.
Reyne Smith has been shooting lights out since the new year, with the Clemson game as the lone exception. After a seven-triple performance against Pitt, watch for him to keep his heater going on.
A win would put the Cards at 14-5 on the year and 7-1 in the ACC, pushing their streak to eight-games.
The rest of the gang look to keep their poise heading into the heart of the ACC schedule as they take on Virginia on Saturday at noon.
Photo Courtesy // Mallory Peak, Louisville Athletics