Virginia Cavaliers vs. Louisville Cardinals Predictions, Picks, Odds and NCAA Basketball Betting Preview – December 28, 2016

Virginia vs. Louisville Basketball Betting Preview

Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY

When: Wednesday, December 28, 7:00 PM ET

Line: Virginia Cavaliers at Louisville Cardinals – view all NCAA Basketball odds and lines

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Betting on the Virginia Cavaliers (TBA)

The No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers entered the Christmas break on a high note after defeating the California Golden Bears last Wednesday, 56-52. Not only did the Cavaliers extend their winning streak to three games, they also snapped Cal’s 27-game home win streak at Haas Pavilion.

Virginia, who leads the country in scoring defense at just 47.2 points allowed per game, certainly clamped down on the hosts from the West Coast. The team held the Golden Bears to hit a mere 35.3 percent of their shots from the floor, including just 5-of-23 from three-point range.

While the defense stepped up big time as expected, there still wasn’t enough offense from the Hoos to pull away from the contest. Luckily for them, freshman guard Kyle Guy seems to have emerged as their go-to scoring option moving forward. Guy had a team-high 17 points versus Cal for his third-consecutive double-digit scoring output.

The Cavaliers will kick off conference play on Wednesday with a visit to the Cardinals, whom they’ve beaten in three out of the four times (2-2 ATS) they’ve faced off since Louisville joined the ACC. Their last two victories in those four meetings were each won by over 15 points apiece as well, but the Cards are no regular-season pushovers like before. Which leads us to…

Betting on the Louisville Cardinals (TBA)

On an even hotter streak are the No. 6 Louisville Cardinals, who stunned No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats last Wednesday, 73-70, for their sixth-straight win since falling to another ranked opponent (Baylor) in late November.

In a tense battle between two of the Bluegrass State’s most prominent programs, it was Louisville that came out on top behind a solid rebounding night wherein it out-hustled the towering bigs of Kentucky, 40-36, and got a career-high 22 points from junior guard Quentin Snider.

The Cardinals defense also held its ground well by limiting Kentucky to just 40 percent field-goal shooting last Wednesday. They are 15th in the nation in scoring defense at a little over 60 points allowed per contest, and can go toe-to-toe on D with the Cavaliers this Wednesday at that. The main difference between Louisville and Virginia, however, is that the former is a much better scoring team than the latter, with the boys from Kentucky scoring nearly eight more points on average per game than the Hoos.

Not only that, but the Cards are a perfect 9-0 at home this season (SU/ATS). That being said, Wednesday’s conference showdown will be an epic one indeed, with Louisville coming out on top with a more well-rounded unit than the Cavaliers that are still trying to gain better footing on offense.

Writer’s Prediction

The Cardinals prevail with a huge 71-65 victory.

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