#12 UVA built a 21-point lead midway through the second half, then held on for a 61-53 win at #6 Louisville on Wednesday.
The Cavs (11-1, 1-0 ACC) got only one field goal in the final 9:03 as the Cardinals (11-2, 0-1 ACC) chipped away.
As nervous as Virginia fans would get down the stretch, though, the margin would never get closer than eight.
UVA never trailed, getting out to an early 12-2 lead, hitting its first four shots from the field, en route to a 36-21 halftime lead.
The lead was 56-35 at the 9:03 mark on a dunk by Mamadi Diakite.
Louisville outscored Virginia 13-1 over the next 7:01, before a Kyle Guy 18-footer at the 2:02 mark extended the lead back to double digits, at 59-48.
The ‘Hoos made just 1-of-their-last-8 from the field after starting the second half 10-of-15.
For the game, UVA was 24-of-49 (49.0 percent) from the floor, 2-of-8 (25 percent) from three and 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) from the line.
Louisville was 19-of-44 shooting (43.2 percent), 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) from three and 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) from the line.
Devon Hall was the only player in the game to hit double figures in scoring, putting in 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.
London Perrantes had nine points and seven assists in 37 minutes, but was just 2-for-10 from the field and had five turnovers.
Kyle Guy had nine points in 19 minutes off the bench for Virginia, which won its second straight on the road against a Power 5 opponent.
The Cavs host #20 Florida State (13-1, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Team Notes
- Virginia limited Louisville to a season-low 21 points in the first half.
- The Cavaliers have limited their opponents to 53 or fewer points in 10 of 12 games
- UVA improved to 1-1 vs. ranked opponents
- UVA has a three-game winning streak vs. Louisville and is 9-4 all-time vs. the Cardinals, including a 4-1 mark in ACC action
- UVA has a nine-game winning streak in ACC openers
- UVA is 3-0 in true road games
Player Notes
- Devon Hall led UVA with 10 points, marking his third game in double figures this season
- London Perrantes handed out six assists to take over sixth place on UVA’s all-time list with 494 career assists, moving past Othell Wilson (493 assists, 1981-84)
- Perrantes made his 112th career start, tying him for ninth all-time at UVA with Chris Williams (1999-2002)