The Cardinals square off against the Cavaliers for an ACC college basketball game. Tip off is at 7PM Eastern, make sure to read the game preview and prediction below!
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What: Louisville Cardinals vs Virginia Cavaliers
When: Monday, February 06, 2017
Start Time: 7:00 PM ET
Stadium: John Paul Jones Arena
Spread: Cavaliers -5
Moneyline: Cavaliers -225 vs Cardinals +195
Game Total: 124
Betting on the Cardinals
The grizzled 11-1 Cardinals head into this game with plenty of experience though as the 5-point underdogs. At an average of 78 points per game and 43.5 percent shooting from the field, they should make a difficult opponent for the Cavaliers on their home court.
Virginia beat Louisville earlier this season, however, the Cardinals are on the upswing going 7-2 since the loss including three straight wins against ACC teams. The sixth-ranked Cardinals are beating opponents by an average margin of 34 points, led by Quentin Snider who will not be playing in this game due to a hip injury suffered, which puts extra pressure on Donovan Mitchell, Deng Adel, and Mangok Mathiang to pick up on scoring.
Though Louisville isn’t particularly impressive on offense, they do however make it up with a great defense that’s ranked as one of the best in the nation as per Kenpom.com.
Betting on the Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are 10-1 this year which includes a successful winning streak of four games away from their court. Virginia is averaging better than the Cardinals in points scored per game at an average of 69.8.
Virginia just had a tough loss against Syracuse this past Saturday, 66-62, to which they uncharacteristically gave up 44 points. The Cavaliers are still considered however a tough defensive team, ranked among the best scoring defenses in the nation by Kenpom.com.
Offensively however, the Cavaliers seem to struggle compared to other ranked teams. With no real scorer amongst their ranks, except for possibly London Perrantes who puts up around 12 points per game on average, Virginia is at a disadvantage when facing tough scoring defenses. Apart from Perrantes, Kyle Guy is averaging 9.4 points, Marial Shayok is averaging 8.3 points, and Darius Thompson is averaging 7.8 points.
Betting Trends
Louisville is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Louisville is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Louisville's last 7 games
Virginia is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
Virginia is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Virginia's last 6 games
Predicted Score: Though the odds favor the Cavaliers, I’m thinking the Cardinals pull off a big upset. Louisville wins by 20; final score is 76-56.