No. 11 Virginia shuts down No. 16 Louisville, 63-47

No. 11 Virginia (17-4, 6-3 ACC) defeated No. 16 Louisville (17-4, 6-2 ACC) in stifling fashion Saturday afternoon by a score of 63-47.

According tooddsmakers at BetDSI, Louisville is the favorite in this game, as the Cardinals are getting odds of -6 points against the Cavaliers. The defense for the Cavaliers held Louisville to 32 percent shooting (16-for-49) for the game while forcing 18 turnovers.

Louisville had almost as many turnovers (13) as points while trailing 29-14 at the break, with six coming during an early 7-minute span. Its 21-percent shooting half included a scoring drought of more than 7 1/2 minutes, a performance nearly similar to last year’s meeting in Charlottesville in which they went 12 minutes without a point in the first half.

The Cavaliers were led by Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill who both had 13 points in the game. “I told them before [the game] you can do this, I know you can”.

“If you get stiff against that zone, then they eat you up”, Bennett said. Leading scorers Damion Lee and Trey Lewis combined for just 10 points. Onuaku, who had been sick during the week, failed to get a rebound and scored only one point.

Jaylen Johnson said in the post-game locker room “We couldn’t execute anything”. “Of course, Louisville didn’t shoot it well and they missed some shots”.

The loss was deflating for both the team and the fanbase following a 4-game winning streak in the ACC. Still the Cards are 6-2 in league play and are second in the ACC. A loss to North Carolina on Monday, however, drops UofL down into a pack of what would be 6 teams tied for 2nd.

Gill’s basket increased the Cavaliers’ lead to 23-10 with 5:19 to play and Louisville responded with Spalding’s basket – its fourth and final field goal of the half.

Quentin Snider had scored UofL’s first five points, one of them a 3-pointer, but except for four free throws, he was done for the day. Saturday’s result was the team’s worst loss at the KFC Yum! The 16-point victory represented Virginia’s largest margin of victory in a road game since an 83-60 win at Georgia Tech on February 22, 1995…. Virginia took a big step to help itself in that conversation with a signature road win, while Louisville might find itself disappointed in what people have to say. Cardinals freshman F Deng Adel had 25 points for the season before scoring 12 on 5-of-9 shooting.