Caption:CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 27: DaJuan Coleman #32 of the Syracuse Orange shoots against Mike Tobey #10 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half during the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional Final at United Center on March 27, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers will host the Louisville Cardinals on Wednesday night, and here are all the facts to know.
Virginia (20-1, 9-0 ACC) lead their conference and are coming off a major 65-63 victory at No. 4 Duke on Saturday.
Louisville (16-5, 6-2 ACC) are second in the ACC. The Cardinals’ two conference losses came on the road against Clemson and Miami, and both were in overtime.
Louisville is led by interim head coach David Padgett. Padgett — a former Cardinals player who will be 33 in February — replaced Rick Pitino in September 2017 after the veteran coach was fired amid an FBI investigation into the university’s illegal recruiting tactics and the hiring of escorts to entertain newly signed athletes. Pitino, who had been the Cardinals’ head coach since 2001, sued Louisville for wrongful termination.
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The Cardinals boast a talented group of upperclassmen stars. The team’s leading scorer is junior forward Deng Adel — a 6-foot-7 South Sudanes-Australian player who will be 22 on Thursday — who is averaging over 15 points per game, up from 12 last year. Adel only played in one of Louisville’s two contests against Virginia last year due to a suspension, but scored just eight points on 3-for-9 shooting and had three rebounds. He has scored at least nine in every game this year.
Louisville’s second leading scorer is senior point guard Quentin Snider. Snider also played in just one of the two games last year (due to a hip injury), scoring eight points on 2-for-5 from the field. This season, Snider has taken just 45 percent of his shots from downtown, and he’s up to 44 percent in field goals. His three-point percentage is the same as last year.
Virginia vs. Louisville:
Date: January 31, 2018
Time: 7 pm EST
Location: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Virginia
TV Channel: ESPN2
According to SBNation, Virginia is favored to win by double digits.
Caption:CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 27: DaJuan Coleman #32 of the Syracuse Orange shoots against Mike Tobey #10 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half during the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional Final at United Center on March 27, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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