The No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers have their eyes on the ACC regular season title, heading into the last week of conference play. Will they end their ACC schedule with a win at home against the Louisville Cardinals? Or will the Cards slay a giant on the road? NCAA basketball futures currently give Louisville +10,000 odds to win the 2019 Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. Virginia of course, looks a lot better in that capacity, with +800 odds to win it all.
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Betting Preview for the Louisville Cardinals vs. Virginia Cavaliers College Basketball Game on March 9, 2019
Where: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville
When: Saturday, March 9, 2019, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Louisville Cardinals (odds) vs. Virginia Cavaliers (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Louisville Cardinals (19-11 Overall / 10-7 Conference)
Louisville finally arrested a three-game losing skid with a convincing 76-61 home win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish last Sunday. That victory sort of soothes the pain Louisville was feeling following a highly disappointing 66-59 home loss to the Boston College Eagles. Prior to the Boston College game, the Cardinals lost at home to the Cavs, 64-52. Scoring just a bit over 50 points isn’t that embarrassing since that’s the kind of output most teams are only allowed to churn out against Virginia, but Louisville should still perform better than that in the rematch. For one, they’re a more efficient offensive team than most squads in the nation. The Cardinals are 36th in the nation with 112.8 points per 100 possessions. Jordan Nwora, who leads the Cardinals with 17.2 points per game, had 17 markers in the loss to Virginia. Louisville also hit 12 3-pointers to just two by the Cavs.
Louisville is 6-4 against the spread (ATS) on the road this season.
Betting on the Virginia Cavaliers (27-2 Overall / 15-2 Conference)
Virginia is in an incredible fine form heading into the ACC tournament. The Cavs extended their winning streak to seven games on Monday, when they annihilated the Syracuse Orange on the road, 79-53. Syracuse does not have a patsy defense, but the Cavaliers made it appear like one, as they shot 54.9 percent from deep and hit an insane total of 18 3-pointers on 25 attempts. That is not a typo. We double-checked it. Triple-checked even. And the Cavs made sure they were the only ones to have a field day on offense at Carrier Dome, as their stout defense limited Syracuse to a ghastly 33.3 field goal percentage. Louisville could relate to that, as the Cardinals made just 30.9 percent of their shots in the first meeting with Tony Bennett’s boys this season. So far, Virginia is No. 1 in the nation with 54.1 points allowed per game and third with opponents shooting just 37.3 percent from the field. De’Andre Hunter paced Virginia with 26 points on 9-for-11 shooting in the Louisville game.
Virginia is 10-5 ATS in 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Virginia wins, 69-55.
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