If the third time is the charm for Louisville against Virginia, then the Cardinals are likely dancing.
ACC Tournament Quarterfinals
No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers (28-2, 17-1) vs. No. 9 Louisville Cardinals (20-12, 9-9)
Game Time: Noon
Location: Barclays Center: Brooklyn, NY
Television: ACC Network (WAVE-3 in Louisville)/ESPN
Announcers: ACC Network: Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (analyst); ESPN: Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Dan Dakich (analyst), Maria Taylor (reporter)
About Virginia:
Regardless of what Virginia does in the ACC Tournament, the Cavaliers are likely to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament when the field is unveiled on Sunday. The No. 1 team in the country captured the ACC’s regular season title by four full games and is the No. 1 seed this week in Brooklyn.
Virginia the top-ranked defensive team in the country, allowing its opponents to score just 52.8 points per game. The Hoos are led offensively by First Team All-ACC performer Kyle Guy, who is averaging 13.9 ppg. Guy suffered a knee sprain during the team’s regular season finale against Notre Dame last Saturday, but is expected to play in Thursday afternoon’s game. Fellow guards Devon Hall (11.9 ppg) and Ty Jerome (10.6 ppg) are also averaging double figures in scoring.
Notable:
—Louisville earned its first ACC Tournament win with Wednesday’s 82-74 victory over eighth-seeded Florida State.
—Louisville is 13-10 in conference tournament games in which it is the worse-seeded team, but 5-0 in such games since 2011.
—Virginia is 5-2 all-time when playing as the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
—Virginia head coach Tony Bennett is 8-7 all-time in the ACC Tournament.
—Louisville has either lost in its first game or played all the way to the championship game in every conference tournament it has participated in since 2007.
—Since Jan. 3, 2012, Louisville is 12-1 in games played in New York City.
—Virginia ranks first nationally in scoring defense (52.8 ppg), turnovers per game (8.8) and winning percentage (93.3%), second in fouls per game (13.9), third in field goal percentage defense (37.6%), fifth in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.9%), seventh in scoring margin (14.5), ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.52) and 11th in turnover margin (4.2).
—Louisville has made the quarterfinals in each of the last seven conference tournaments it has played in. The Cardinals have made it to at least the semifinals in six of their last nine conference tournaments.
—Virginia has made the ACC semifinals in three of the last four years.
— Louisville is third in the nation in blocked shots ay 6.3 bpg. The team blocked 10 in its win over FSU on Wednesday.
—Individually, Anas Mahmoud ranks eighth in the nation in blocked shots (3.0 bpg).
—No team has ever lost its first conference tournament game and gone on to win the national championship.
—Virginia has won six consecutive games against Louisville, including two victories this season.
—Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 16 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga).
—Virginia has held 22 of its 30 opponents to 60 points or fewer this season. Louisville has broken the 60-point threshold in both of its meetings against the Cavaliers this season.
—Virginia is 76-2 when holding opponents under 50 points in the Tony Bennett era, and 12-0 when doing so this season.
—Louisville has won 11 of its last 13 conference tournament games and has won four of the last eight conference tournaments it has competed in.
Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Virginia 65, Louisville 56
