Louisville started out hot but couldn’t hang on as Virginia won 64-52 at the Yum Center on Saturday. Louisville drops to 18-10 and 9-6 in the ACC. The 3rd ranked Cavaliers improved to 24-2 and 12-2.
Louisville started out on fire from three point range, hitting 10 of 16 in the first half while only making one shot from inside the arc. A Jordan Nwora shot at the buzzer made it a 37-27 lead at the break. The Cards would cool down though; they followed with 2-17 from three in the second half and were outscored 37-15 in the final 20 minutes.
Jordan Nwora led Louisville with 17 points and 4 rebounds. Dwayne Sutton added 8 points and 11 boards; both players were on the court for the full 40 minutes. For Virginia, DeAndre Hunter scored 26 points on only 11 shots. The Cavs only got 12 combined points from their backcourt duo of Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome. Altogether, Louisville made 5 two-point field goals and were outscored 38-4 in the paint.
There is nothing wrong with losing to the 3rd ranked team in the nation, but it’s the way Louisville has been losing recently that could make you nervous about this team. The Cards played one of their best halves ever against UVA but just couldn’t replicate it in the second.
If they weren’t already, Louisville is currently facing a crossroads in their season. With two games upcoming against bottom dwellers in the ACC, it gives the Cards a break from this tough stretch and gives them an opportunity to build some confidence after a rough 3 weeks. Nothing is given at this level, but you’d like to see this team get back on track in a big way this next week.
Up Next: The Cards travel north for a Wednesday game at Boston College (13-13,4-10) at 9:00 ET.
