NCAAB Game Preview - Virginia at Louisville

Sat Feb 23, 2019 12:00 PM EST

Louisville has won just once against Virginia since joining the conference in 2014, going winless in its past seven attempts.

Saturday afternoon's game won't be any easier.

No. 3 Virginia will be looking to extend its series dominance against an 18th-ranked Louisville team that is reeling a bit after a 7-1 start to ACC play. The Cardinals, infamously, blew a 23-point second-half lead to Duke last week and have dropped three of their past four games after a 69-49 loss to Syracuse on Wednesday night.

"I think it's just a slump. All teams have that," Louisville guard Khwan Fore said after the loss. "We've just got to keep working, put it behind us."

Louisville's offensive struggles could not come at a worse time as it will be facing the nation's No. 1 scoring defense. Virginia, which allows 54.6 points per game, held Virginia Tech to 3-of-28 shooting from beyond the arc on Monday night.

"They're a great shooting team," Virginia guard Ty Jerome said of the Hokies. "In the second half, I think we did a better job of dialing in, beating handoffs better, and we made some adjustments."

The Cardinals (18-9, 9-5 ACC) made just 6 of 28 shots from behind the arc in the loss to Syracuse and are shooting 35.6 percent from distance for the season. Sophomore forward Jordan Nwora continues to lead Louisville in scoring at 17.3 points per game, but he hasn't received much help. Nwora was the only Cardinal to score in double figures (11) in Wednesday's loss.

The 49 points were Louisville's lowest output since losing 68-46 at Virginia on March 5, 2016.

"We've got to be able to be big boys and get over it," Louisville head coach Chris Mack said after the loss.

Mack will get his first crack at Virginia as the Cardinals welcome the Cavaliers to the KFC Yum! Center for the first time since last season's painful loss. De'Andre Hunter banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave then-No. 1 ranked Virginia a one-point win after Deng Adel traveled along the baseline on an inbounds play with 0.9 seconds left.

The Cavaliers (23-2, 11-2) have not lost a game this season to a team other than Duke, and they are tied atop the ACC standings with the Blue Devils and North Carolina. Junior guard Kyle Guy has been scorching of late, tallying three consecutive 20-point games, the first Cavalier to do so since Malcolm Brogdon in 2016.

Guy scored 17 first-half points against the Hokies and has made at least one 3-pointer in 25 consecutive games.

"Kyle kept us in it with his three-point shooting," coach Tony Bennett said after the game. "He was banging shots."

Louisville will be Virginia's fourth ranked opponent in a five-game stretch, and the Cavaliers will be looking to post a 4-1 record over that period, with a chance to move back into the No. 1 spot in Monday's AP poll.

Louisville and Virginia will also meet in the regular-season finale in Charlottesville, Va., on March 9.

--Field Level Media