Following a thrilling 70-67 victory over NC State (8-5, 1-2 ACC), the 8-5 Virginia Cavaliers hosted another game in JPJ against the 9-5 Louisville Cardinals Saturday evening. Looking to build momentum with the start of a new year, coach Sanchez and the Hoos sought to take down an impressive Louisville squad. Led by guard Chucky Hepburn, the Cardinals also feature a new head coach in Pat Kelsey. Close losses to ranked Kentucky and Duke and a win against North Carolina (8-6, 1-1 ACC) gave Virginia their toughest conference foe of the season.
UVA missed four of its first five field goals before an and-one by freshman Jacob Cofie gave UVA an early 7-6 lead making for a competitive start. Transition defense and containing Hepburn would be critical for victory. Despite a slow start on offense, Virginia did an excellent job staying in front of the basketball and slowing Louisville’s prolific attack. Guard Isaac McKneely broke UVA’s 0-8 three-point attempts with a bucket at the eight-minute mark in the first half to bring UVA within four points. The Cavs were getting great looks on offense, but small mistakes and timing meant the shots hadn’t started to drop yet. Virginia had a difficult time stopping Cardinal forward Aboubacar Traore who, coming off the bench, put up nine points in the first half. Matthew Rhode, Virginia’s leading scorer with 16 points, hit a last-minute layup to cut Louisville’s lead to five; the score going into halftime was 32-27.
Isaac McKneely and forward Elijah Saunders got UVA rolling early to begin the second half. A big three and fast break field goal got the Cavaliers within two points. However, UVA still needed a way to take control. Louisville would repeatedly jump to a seven-point lead, with the Cavaliers playing catch-up to get back in the game. Unfortunately, the spark wouldn’t come as Louisville kept the pressure on with Reyne Smith. The Louisville guard scored 15 points and hit five three-pointers to help the Cards pull away late in the second half. Virginia’s momentum stalled as shot after shot bounced off the rim. Virginia finished shooting 37% of their field goals and only 19% from beyond the arc. They only managed 25 rebounds to Louisville’s 42 and turned the ball over 10 times. A comeback was out of the question with three minutes left in the game. After a 10-2 scoring run, the Cardinals went on to rout Virginia with a final score of 70-50, their first win out of 10 games in JPJ. Virginia won 18 of the last 19 matchups.
UVA could not replicate their come-from-behind performance five days prior against one of the hottest teams in the ACC. A methodical offensive approach only works if you make every shot count; Virginia simply isn’t efficient enough with the scheme they run. Pressure is building for a run of good form as the season continues. The Cavaliers will travel to Berkeley next Wednesday, January 8th to face California. The game starts at 11:00 pm EST and airs on ESPNU.
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