 tied the game at 58 with 2 minutes left and overcame another five-point deficit in the final minute. Louisville led 66-64 and tried to inbounds with .9 seconds left, but Virginia got the ball after Deng Adel was called for traveling on the baseline.After a timeout, Hunter got the ball and sank a long 3 that banked in at the horn, sparking a wild dog pile of Cavaliers celebrating in front of Louisville bench.Ty Jerome scored 21 points while Devon Hall and Kyle Guy each had 10 and Hunter seven as Virginia became the first ACC team with perfect road league record since Duke (8-0) in the 2011-12 season.Adel had 18 points for Louisville (19-11, 9-8).BIG PICTUREVirginia: The Cavaliers didn't flinch or fade despite trailing, and stuck with their game plan until getting a final chance that went through. Shooting 56 percent in the second half helped along with holding Louisville to 36 percent after halftime. They also outrebounded the Cardinals 34-27.Louisville: Facing a tall order against a Cavaliers squad that had beaten them five straight times, the Cardinals had their chances to seal it but missed free throws late before Adel's turnover gave Virginia a final chance. With it went a golden opportunity to get the signature win they needed, one that they let slip away.UP NEXTVirginia hosts Miami in its regular season finale on Saturday.Louisville closes the regular season Saturday at North Carolina State, which is coached by former Cardinals assistant Kevin Keatts.---For more college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/-Top25)
Feb 28, 2018 LOUISVILLE -- The Louisville Cardinals enter Thursday night's showdown with No. 1 Virginia desperate for the win to help their NCAA Tournament resume.The Cardinals are 19-10 overall with a 9-7 ACC record, and are frequently featured on the NCAA bubble in many bracket projections. A win over Virginia would all but assure Louisville an NCAA at-large bid."Obviously beating the No. 1 team in the country would be a pretty big boost," Louisville interim coach David Padgett said. "We're not saying we absolutely have to win these next two games, but we want to win these next two games. ... The scenario game is too hard to tell, there's just too much that could change. We have to focus on trying to beat Virginia (Thursday) night." To make Thursday night's battle with the Cavaliers (26-2, 15-1) more pressure-filled, it is also Senior Night for starting guard and Louisville native Quentin Snider and starting center Anas Mahmoud."I told Anas and Q the other day -- obviously they have been through a lot of adversity, but what better way to go out than trying to beat the No. 1 team in the country," Padgett said. "It's funny how thing work out." The battle with the Cavaliers will be tough. Virginia is the best defensive team in the nation, holding foes to 52.1 points per game this season.Pittsburgh scored seven points in the first half (37 for the game) against Virginia on Saturday."Defensively, they just don't have weaknesses and make it very difficult for you," Pitt coach Kevin Stallings said.Virginia has already locked up the ACC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in next week's ACC Tournament, an accomplishment that was specifically a goal of coach Tony Bennett's in the preseason."You play an 18-game schedule, and that's a test over almost three months," Bennett said. "And that's a big sample of what you're doing. Yes, it'd be a great thing to win all your games, but I think winning the regular-season ACC championship is what stands out. Everybody has to play nine at home and nine on the road." Virginia hasn't lost a road game since Feb. 18, 2017, a loss at future NCAA Champion North Carolina. They could finish with an undefeated ACC road record with a win Thursday night."Hopefully we can avoid having that happen," Padgett said, noting he "couldn't even comprehend being 8-0 in this league. "But just the fact that they're in that position is incredible. You always know it's going to be very difficult to score on them. You can't take bad shots. You can't turn the ball over. You've got to be very, very disciplined, and they've shown that throughout the year." Virginia leading scorer Kyle Guy sat out the final 17:06 against Pittsburgh after taking a hard fall on a drive to the basket. He was examined by team physician Ethan Saliba, and didn't return.Louisville shuffled its lineup in recent games. The Cardinals were very successful last Saturday versus Virginia Tech with a lineup that featured 6-foot-5 forward Dwayne Sutton. While Sutton will likely play quite a bit Thursday night, the Cardinals' starting lineup will be the more traditional lineup with Ray Spalding and Mahmoud at the four and five spots."I am going to start Anas not only because he's a senior, but also because he deserves it," Padgett said. "Virginia Tech was different because they are a little smaller, a little quicker and we needed that quickness around the ball. That being said, we will probably have that lineup in at some point with Dwayne playing the power forward spot. But we will start Anas and Ray together and hopefully we can get off to a good start."
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Virginia
Louisville
Pick Center
NCAAB
FINAL (3/1/2018)
BestBets
