Louisville (4-26, 2-17 ACC) at No. 13 Virginia (22-6 14-5)

2 p.m., ESPN2

After more than four months of regular-season basketball, Virginia wraps up its “first season” on Saturday afternoon when the Louisville Cardinals come to JPJ.

Tomorrow’s game has plenty of intrigue, given that it will be Senior Day for Kihei Clark and others while UVa still has plenty to play for. With a win, the Wahoos will clinch a share of the ACC regular-season title for the sixth time in 10 seasons. A win will also guarantee the Cavaliers will be the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament, and if they lose, they can be anywhere from the 2 seed to the 4, opening up play in Thursday’s Quarterfinals.

Louisville fans are probably ready for the 2022-23 season to end, and they are likely just a couple of games away from the offseason. The Cardinals come to Charlottesville 4-26 and 2-17 in ACC play, finishing up a very disappointing first season under Kenny Payne.

Louisville pushed UVa in the first meeting in February, leading by as many as nine before losing 61-58. The Cardinals will be the No. 15 seed in the ACC Tournament, and have lost their last three, seven of their last eight, and 17 of their last 19. UL is 0-13 away from home this season, and are yet to win at John Paul Jones Arena, going 0-7 since joining the ACC and losing by an average margin of 10.4 points per game.

Louisville enters this regular-season finale ranked 286th in KenPom, and quite frankly have been a drain on ACC metrics all season. The Cards rank 262nd nationally in offensive efficiency, and are 289th on the defensive end. They are one of the very worst teams in the country at taking care of the basketball, ranking 352nd nationally out of 363 teams in turnovers per possession. Louisville shoots just 47.3 percent on two-pointers and 33.2 percent on 3s, well below average in both categories. The Cardinals also allow a lot of blocks and steals, ranking below 300th nationally in both categories.

On defense, Louisville is one of the worst teams at creating takeaways, ranking 331st nationally in turnovers forced per possession, and 347th in steal rate.

Despite all of that, the Cards pushed UVa in the first meeting and more than held their own despite entering as big underdogs at home. Virginia ultimately trailed 26-17 with 5:18 left in the first half, and finished strong to take a 29-26 lead into halftime. UVa would ultimately stretch the lead out to 10 at 55-45 with just over five minutes left, but had to hang on in the final minute for a three-point win.

In the victory, UVa went 6-of-18 from deep and turned the ball over just six times. The Hoos did miss seven of their 16 free throws though, and made just half of their two-point field goal attempts. Louisville hit eight of 20 from beyond the arc, but made just 43 percent of its two’s and were out-rebounded 38-31.

As has been the case all season, Louisville was led by one man in the first game against Virginia: senior guard El Ellis. The 6-foot-3 Durham native has had an impressive season despite his team’s struggles, leading the Cardinals at 17.8 points and 4.4 assists per contest. Ellis has scored 10+ points in his last six games, including a 33-point effort against Miami and a 28-point game in an upset win over Clemson just days after losing to UVa.

In that game against the Hoos, Ellis went for a game-high 21 points and dished out seven assists, helping to keep the Cards in the contest. And again in the rematch, UVa will need to have a plan to keep Ellis to a reasonable number of points, and if he’s hitting shots you can’t let anyone else get going along with him.

Speaking of Ellis’ running mates, Virginia allowed two Cards besides him to go for double digits in last month’s game. Junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers had a hot start to the contest and finished the game with 12 points, though he did go 1-for-7 from deep. Withers is averaging 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the season, and has scored just 20 total points in his four games since the decent outing against the Hoos. Freshman guard Mike James is second on the team in scoring at 9.7 points per game, and has also been a bright spot in a tough season for the Cards. Against UVa, James put up 10 points and went 3-for-4 from 3. He has scored at least 13 points in three of Louisville’s four games since, but he hasn’t made a single 3-pointer since playing the Cavaliers (0-for-11).

From an outcome standpoint, this is a game UVa should win and needs to win. The Wahoos are at home against a Louisville team that will surely bring effort, but is also running out the clock on a terrible season. In their nine ACC road games, the Cards are 0-9 with an average margin of defeat of 16.2 points per game. Only one of those losses, an eight-point setback to Miami, came by single digits.

UVa has a lot to play for of course. The Hoos are trying to help their ACC and NCAA Tournament seeding, clinch a share of the regular-season title, and want to close out the season with some momentum heading into tournament play.

UVa had a rough couple of weeks and the win over Clemson on Tuesday was a step in the right direction, but a comfortable win over Louisville where the Cavaliers dismantle an opponent they should, would make everyone around the program feel a little better before they head to Greensboro.

Virginia should take care of business here and close out a successful regular season on a high note, sending the seniors off in style one more time in JPJ.