The first of two matchups featuring two ranked teams tonight is between the No. 16 Virginia Cavaliers and the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals. UVA enters this contest 14-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC, while Louisville is 12-4 and 2-2 in conference play. Virginia is 24-7 against Louisville, but the Cardinals have won the last two contests. The Cardinals are 2-8 in their previous 10 matchups against Virginia in Louisville.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Louisville is the favorite at -3.5 on the spread while Virginia is +150 on the moneyline. Check out my favorite bet for tonight’s Virginia vs. Louisville contest.
Virginia vs. Louisville (7:00 p.m. ET)
Louisville is coming off a win, but it was against 7-9 Boston College. Before that, they lost two straight games against Duke and Stanford. The Cardinals are 3-3 in their previous six games and have struggled against above-average opponents. Meanwhile, Virginia is 9-1 in their last 10 games, with their lone loss in that span coming in triple overtime against Virginia Tech. Louisville lost to Stanford by four points, while Virginia just beat them by 15.
On KenPom, these teams are ranked back-to-back, with Virginia at No. 15 and Louisville at No. 16. Virginia has the edge in defensive rating, but Louisville’s offensive rating is ranked eight spots higher. Virginia is elite defensively, holding four of their last five opponents to 61 or fewer points.
Louisville has a deep rotation with six players averaging at least 10 points per game. Ryan Conwell leads the way with 19.9 points, while freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. averages 16.6. Virginia matches up well with Louisville, which also has a ton of backcourt depth with Malik Thomas (12.7 PPG), Jacari White (10.9 PPG), and Chance Mallory (10.8 PPG). Thijs De Ridder is Virginia’s leading scorer, averaging 16.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest.
Even though Virginia is on the road, they have excelled away from home this season. The Cavaliers beat Texas by 19 points and NC State by 15 points on the road this season. Since Louisville has been inconsistent lately, Virginia +3.5 is an excellent value play.
