The ACC will be featuring heavyweight matchups on a regular basis, and that includes one of the first games of the conference schedule. The Louisville Cardinals and Virginia Cavaliers are both ranked in the top-12 nationally and will face off in hopes of getting a leg up in what will be a tough race.
Both of these teams are among the best in the country but Louisville is ranked higher and plays this game at home, so it will be the favorite in this matchup. Virginia has beaten some tough foes this year and an upset isn’t outside the realm of possibility.
At 7 p.m. ET, tune into CBS for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Wednesday, December 28, 2016, at the KFC Yum! Center.
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Odds at BookMaker.eu
Louisville is 11-1 straight up and 8-2 against the spread on the season. The Cardinals have been the favorite in all but two of their games and have covered in six of those eight attempts. Louisville is 7-0 against the spread at home this season.
Virginia is 10-1 straight up and 8-2 against the spread this year. The Cavaliers have gone 2-0 against the spread on the road this season and will aim to do so again while getting points. Virginia has not been the underdog yet this season but will aim to play well as one.
Schedule Situation
Louisville is in the middle of a challenging stretch of games which includes matchups against four ranked teams in a row. The team is fresh off a 3-point win over No. 6 Kentucky, its second victory against a ranked opponent this season.
The Cardinals also defeated No. 15 Purdue last month and their only loss was to No. 20 Baylor on November 15th. Louisville has upcoming matchups against No. 16 Indiana and No. 24 Notre Dame following this showdown with Virginia.
The Cardinals are used to this type of schedule and they won’t be intimidated, but so many tough games in a row does tax a team quite a bit. It will be interesting to see how well the team fares in a tough stretch of opponents.
Key Stat
47.2. That’s how many points the stout Virginia defense is allowing per game so far this season. The Cavaliers rank No.1 in the nation for points allowed.
The Cavaliers defeated Cal 56-52 in the team’s most recent matchup on December 21st. Virginia will be facing another tough defense this week as it takes on Louisville, which is allowing 60.3 points a game.
Virginia likes to play at a deliberate pace and will pass the ball around for a good shot while using good fundamentals defensively. Louisville averages 78 points per game and likes to push the ball, so the side which can dictate their style better will have the leg up in this one.
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Louisville has long been one of the better programs in the country and this year is no different. The Cardinals have good balance, as there are seven players who average between 7.0 and 12.0 points per game. That makes it tougher for Virginia to key on one player.
The Cardinals’ lone loss this season came against Baylor by three points. With teams like North Carolina, Duke and Florida State also in this conference, both teams badly want to win this game in order to keep pace in what is sure to be a competitive ACC race.
While Virginia is talented and disciplined enough to keep this one close, the choice is for Louisville to take care of business at home. The Cardinals are again one of the best teams in the country and will show it again in this one.
College Basketball Odds: Louisville 64, Virginia 61
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