And it all comes down to this: After winning 15 of their 17 league games today, No. 2 UVa needs one more victory to lock up the top seed in next week's conference tournament and the Cavaliers will get their chance tomorrow when they close out the regular season against Louisville (4 p.m., ESPN).
The Wahoos (27-2, 15-2 ACC) come into tomorrow's rematch after having come from behind to beat Syracuse on Monday night. And with Senior Day looming ahead of the ACC Tournament, plenty is still left to work out before the 15 teams arrive in Charlotte in a few days.
Louisville Cardinals (19-11, 10-7 ACC)
Head coach: Chris Mack, 10th year (234-108 overall, 19-11 in one year at UL)
Series: UVa leads the all-time series 14-4.
Last Meeting: The Cavaliers beat the Cards 64-52 in Louisville last month.
Three Things We Know
1. The Hoos can cross off one of their season goals with a win on Saturday.
UVa wraps up its regular season against a familiar foe in a familiar setting. The Cavaliers will be looking to wrap up the regular season 28-2, and 16-2 in ACC play. In doing so, they would clinch at least a share of the ACC regular season title and would win it outright if their win is coupled with a UNC loss later Saturday evening. A win would also give the Cavaliers the top seed in next week’s ACC Tournament in Charlotte. Should UVa beat the Cards for the second time this year, it will be their fourth first-place finish in the conference since 2014 and should help them claim their third NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed in the same six-year span. A loss would drop UVa to the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament which would still have the Hoos opening play in next Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
2. Virginia is looking for a season sweep of Cardinals after beating them in the Derby City.
UVa faced Louisville just two weeks ago and looked a bit shaky out of the gate in a tough road environment. The Cavaliers fell behind after the Cards got hot from deep and carried a 10-point lead into halftime. It was a tale of two halves, however, as the Wahoos shook off that double-digit deficit before eventually winning by a 12-point margin themselves. Virginia out-scored Louisville 38-15 in the second half, led by a career performance from De’Andre Hunter, who finished with 26 points after playing sparingly in the first half because of foul trouble. UVa overcame a poor shooting performance, making just two of 17 attempts from beyond the arc and earned a record fifth road win over a ranked team.
3. Louisville has gone 1-1 since facing UVa and is limping into the postseason.
After a blowout loss at Syracuse a few days earlier, the Cards were struggling heading into the first meeting with Virginia. They had dropped three of their past four games prior to that clash with the Hoos with a one-point victory over Clemson the lone "bright" spot in that rough stretch. Since losing to UVa, Louisville split games with Boston College and Notre Dame, falling in Chestnut Hill before correcting course against the Irish. After a hot start to conference play made the Cardinals out to be ACC title contenders, Louisville has dealt with a reality check in the brutal back half of its conference slate. A win over UVa to end the regular season would do wonders for the Cardinals but a loss would send them into the postseason with no real momentum.
