Saturday is set up to be a very special day in the KFC Yum Center. Not only are we celebrating the efforts of two great players in Montrezl Harrell and Wayne Blackshear, but there is also a pretty good team in #2 Virginia coming to town. This will be another opportunity to get a great quality win before the selection and seeding process next weekend. Our Cardinals will also ultimately be playing for a double bye in next week’s ACC Tournament. Louisville trails Virginia 3-6 in this series, but has won two of the last three meetings. Virginia prevailed 52-47 in Charlottesville earlier this season.

Video | Rick Pitino previews Virginia game

The Cavaliers will be looking to extend their nine-game winning streak. Virginia is averaging 65.8 points on 46.3% shooting from the field, and 36% shooting from the three. They are being led this season by Malcolm Brogdon (13.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.6 apg), Anthony Gill (11.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.9 apg), Darion Atkins (7.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.7 apg), Darion Atkins (7.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.7 apg), and London Perrantes (6.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.7 apg). The Cavaliers are 13-0 on the road this season.

Defensively, Virginia is allowing 50 points a game, 35.5% shooting from the field and 30.2% shooting from the three. They have given up 60 or less points in eight straight games. They have held six teams under 40 points this season.

Virginia’s 2014-15 OVERALL Rankings Offense | Defense

Virginia’s 2014-15 Kenpom Rankings
Overall- #3
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-84.2 ranks 1st
Offense Adjustment Efficiency
-112.4 ranks 28th
-Per Kenpom’s game prediction he has Virginia winning the game 56-53 based on his indexes.

Our Cardinals need a big win after splitting their last eight games. They are averaging 69.9 points on 43% shooting from the field, and 30.7% from the three. Terry Rozier is averaging 17.2 points and 2.8 assists; Montrezl Harrell is averaging 15.6 points and 9.3 rebounds. Wayne Blackshear is the third double-digit scorer averaging 10.7 points and 4.6 rebounds. Chinanu Onuaku has been gradually improving all season and is grabbing five rebounds a game. Despite an encouraging effort in the FSU game the Louisville bench was held scoreless against Notre Dame. The 5 spot combined for 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers and 11 fouls vs. Notre Dame.

Mango, Shaqquan, Anas, Jaylen and Anton have to become a bigger part of the Louisville team over the next couple of weeks. It’s imperative to this team’s tournament success in my opinion. We may see these guys play more due to the recent news that Coach Pitino plans on changing his system especially on the defensive end. The main reason some of the younger guys haven’t seen the floor was due to their defensive execution. One would think a simplified defense would mean more playing time. Currently the Louisville defense is allowing 59.3 points a game, 38.5% shooting from the field and 28.5% shooting from the three. They have given up 59 or less points in six of their last 10 games.

It’s always a good thing when you can get a game like this to end a regular season. A quality opponent can get a team prepared for the tough weeks ahead as tournament play starts. This Virginia team is a very good opponent to close the season with and they do a lot of things well. They will challenge our Cardinals in every facet of the game on Saturday and we’ll see if the Cards can start trending upward.

I do think our guys answer the call on Senior Day as they will be riding a wave of emotions from the festivities. I also think these guys will respond to the “system change” that Coach Pitino has made. I think they will play a little looser and will play harder not having to worry about making mistakes on the defensive end of the floor. I’m looking forward to being right in the middle of it all. Going to be a great day! Go Cards!

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 60 Virginia 53