Neither the Louisville Cardinals nor the Virginia Cavaliers have been doing any favors for bettors of late, but something will give for sure on Saturday when these two ACC heavyweights clash in the Commonwealth.
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SCHEDULING
There probably shouldn't be any concern from a live betting standpoint over either of these teams and their schedule in this one. Louisville is playing at Virginia Tech on Wednesday night in a game which shouldn't prove to be all that difficult, while Virginia will have four days off in a row after beating Wake Forest on a buzzer-beater and a huge rally on Tuesday night.
However, it definitely is notable that the Hoos are coming into this one on a high. They haven't played well on the road all year long, and this is a really tough test in and of itself. At least Virginia knows that it can go on a furious rally if it has to. The Cavaliers were down 64-54 with 1:23 left in the game at Wake Forest on Tuesday, and their win probability was under one percent when they were down 70-63 with 0:22 left to go. Live bettors should be ready to see whether that momentum carries into this one early or not.
KEY MATCHUP
The lineup for Virginia just isn't coming together right now. Heck, Jack Salt, who averages just 2.2 points per game and has been a DNP in five UVA games this year was in the starting lineup against Wake Forest.
That said, the constant offensively is Malcolm Brogdon. He's had three straight 20+ point games on a team which plays at one of the slowest paces in the entire nation. The fifth-year senior isn't the greatest outside shooter in the world, but he's got range, he's been incredibly clutch, and when he's on his game, he's relatively unstoppable offensively.
Meanwhile, for all of the accolades the Virginia defense gets, it's Louisville which has the better defensive according to advanced stats in this game. Damion Lee is one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the game today, and the matchup of him against Brogdon is going to be the one live bettors need to pay attention to the most. If Lee is winning this battle, the UVA offense could really be in a lot of trouble, and there could be huge stretches of time when it doesn't find the bottom of the net.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Virginia's defense is touted as one of the best in America, but it just allowed a very poor offensive Wake Forest team to shoot 52 percent for the game on Tuesday night. The Cavs are conceding 43.1 percent of their opponents' shots this year, a freakishly high number by Tony Bennett's standards.
Iffy defense is why the Cavaliers have gone just 0-4 ATS in their last four and 1-6 ATS in their last seven and 2-8 ATS in their last 10. They routinely kept teams in the 50s last season, but live bettors have seen them go on some awful spurts defensively at times. No foe has been held under 58 since December 8.
Of course, Louisville hasn't been a lot better for bettors either. The Cardinals are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight games overall, though it should be noted that those two covers did come in their last two games played here at the KFC Yum! Center.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The showdown between the Virginia Cavaliers and Louisville Cardinals will start at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 30, 2016, at the KFC Yum! Center. The contest will be broadcast on CBS.
