It will be an emotional night for both sides when #4 Virginia and #11 Louisville lock up Saturday night at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville.
UVA (23-6, 12-5 ACC) marks Senior Night for its most successful graduating class in three decades – Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey and Evan Nolte. Louisville (23-7, 12-5 ACC) will be marking the premature end to its season with self-imposed sanctions that will keep the Cardinals out of the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
So the Cavs kids have the distraction of mom and dad and siblings and framed jerseys and flowers in pregame ceremonies. The Louisville kids have to focus after having had their own Senior Night earlier in the week that included parting gifts from coach Rick Pitino and a highlight video that seemed to portend a sense of … finality?
One other distraction: a share of the ACC regular-season title could be on the line, depending on what else happens in the ACC on Saturday. A Duke win at UNC, and a Miami loss at Virginia Tech, and the winner in JPJ can hang up a banner next season.
Virginia has already secured a double-bye in next week’s ACC Tournament, meaning the ‘Hoos won’t play until Thursday. At this stage, they could go anywhere from the one seed to the four.
Inside Louisville
- Damion Lee is the linchpin of this team, scoring 16.2 points per game on 43.6 percent shooting from the field. Trey Lewis (11.4 ppg), Chinanu Onuaku (10.0 ppg, 8.6 rebs/g, 62.9% FG) and Quentin Snider (9.7 ppg, 3.6 assists/g, 40.8% three-point shooting) are also productive on a roster that features 10 players who average at least 13 minutes a game.
- Offense: Louisville scores 75.9 points per game (sixth in the ACC), shooting 47.5 percent from the field (third in the ACC) and 35.4 percent from three-point range (sixth in the ACC). The Cards 1.108 points per possession, 57th nationally.
- Defense: Louisville opponents score 60.9 points per game, second in the ACC, shooting 38.7 percent from the field, best in the ACC, and 31.9 percent from three-point range, third in the ACC. The Cardinals allow .901 points per possession, third nationally.
- Tempo: 67.0 possessions per game
Inside Virginia
- Malcolm Brogdon is averaging 23.5 points per game over the past four, shooting 59.0 percent from the field (36-of-61) and 57.7 percent from three-point range (15-of-26). Those are, you know, good numbers.
- Anthony Gill has had a pair of nice games after a late-season slump, putting in 15 and 9 in the win over UNC last week and 11 and 10 in the road win at Clemson on Tuesday. He still didn’t shoot 50 percent from the field in either, and something I just noticed: he was 50 percent or better in 18 of UVA’s first 21, but has shot 50 percent or better just twice in the past eight.
- London Perrantes, shooting 50.9 percent on threes this year, leading the ACC, by a wide margin, has been in a bit of a relative slowdown of late, connecting on 42.3 percent (11-of-26) in his last four games. For perspective on that: 42.3 percent shooting from three would rank him fifth in the ACC, a tick ahead of Brogdon.
- Offense: Virginia scores 70.8 points per game, 12th in the ACC, shooting 48.9 percent from the field, best in the ACC, and 40.7 percent from three, also best in the ACC. The Cavs score 1.184 points per possession, 10th nationally.
- Defense: UVA opponents score 60.1 points per game, best in the ACC, shooting 42.1 percent from the field, fifth in the ACC, and 35.3 percent from three, ninth in the ACC. Opponents score .929 points per possession, ninth nationally.
- Tempo: 61.7 possessions per game
– Preview by Chris Graham
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