Let’s do this.
Louisville Cardinals (19-10, 9-7) vs. No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers (26-2, 15-1)
Game Time: 8:06 p.m.
Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, Ky.
Television: ACC Network/WHAS-11 locally
Announcers: Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (analyst)
Officials: Mike Eades, James Luckie, Bill Covington, Jr.
About Virginia:
They’re really good at defense and awesome overall. We know this.
Notable:
—Louisville will honor seniors Quentin Snider and Anas Mahmoud before Thursday night’s game. Both seniors will also address the crowd after the game. Fans are encouraged to wear red.
—Louisville has won 15 of its last Senior Night/Day games. The lone exception over that span was a loss to South Florida in 2012.
—Louisville has made 43.5 percent of its three-pointers over the last eight games (73-of-168) and leads the ACC in three-point percentage for conference games only (.387). U of L is 14-2 when it makes eight or more three-pointers in a game.
—Louisville is third in the nation in blocked shots (6.4 bpg) and ranks 18th in field goal percentage defense (.405).
—Anas Mahmoud is eighth in the nation in blocked shots (3.0 bpg).
—Louisville has a 42-11 record in its conference home games over the last six years (.792). U of L has the fourth-most conference home wins in its four years in the ACC with 27.
—Virginia has already clinched its third ACC regular season title in five years. The Cavaliers will be the No. 1 seed at next week’s ACC tournament.
—Virginia has won a school-record nine consecutive road games in conference play.
—A win Thursday would give the Cavaliers the first 9-0 ACC road record in league history and the first perfect league road record since Duke went 8-0 in 2011-12.
—Thursday night’s game will be the 300th Tony Bennett has coached at Virginia.
—Louisville has lost five straight games to Virginia.
—In its seven games against Virginia since joining the ACC, Louisville has averaged 53.1 points and is 1-6.
—Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 15 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga), needing one victory to extend that streak.
—Louisville is 4-6 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Cards have prevailed in the last two such games, beating North Carolina at home in 2016 and taking down Syracuse on Senior Day in 2010.
Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Virginia 63, Louisville 57
