CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - No. 22 Virginia (22-7, 14-5 ACC) hosts Louisville (24-6, 15-4 ACC) in its regular-season finale on Saturday (March 7). Tipoff for Senior Day at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN. With a victory, UVA, the reigning national champion, can claim a share of the ACC regular season title should Florida State lose to Boston College.
BOTTOM LINE: Two ranked teams battle as No. 10 Louisville visits No. 22 Virginia in a late season showdown. Louisville has two wins and three losses against ranked opponents this season, while Virginia has won three of its five games against ranked teams.
SAVVY VETERANS: Senior leadership has been on display for both of these teams. Mamadi Diakite, Braxton Key and Jay Huff have combined to score 54 percent of Virginia’s points this season and 60 percent of the team’s points over its last five games. For Louisville, Jordan Nwora, Dwayne Sutton, Steven Enoch and Ryan McMahon have collectively accounted for 61 percent of all Louisville scoring, including 69 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.
FUELING THE OFFENSE: Kihei Clark has either made or assisted on 43 percent of all Virginia field goals over the last five games. The sophomore guard has accounted for 20 field goals and 26 assists in those games.
PERFECT WHEN: Louisville is a perfect 18-0 when it scores at least 71 points. The Cardinals are 6-6 when scoring any fewer than 71.
STREAK STATS: Louisville has dropped its last three road games, scoring 62.3 points and allowing 74.3 points during those contests. Virginia has won its last five home games, scoring an average of 58.4 points while giving up 52.8.
STINGY DEFENSE: Virginia has held opposing teams to 52.3 points per game this season, the lowest figure among all Division I teams.
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