Men's Basketball Begins ACC Play Against Virginia on Wednesday Night

Wednesday, December 28

LOUISVILLE, KY

7 p.m.

University of Louisville

VIRGINIA

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Men's Basketball Begins ACC Play Against Virginia on Wednesday Night

December 27, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Louisville Notes Virginia Notes Live Stats

Cardinals kick off ACC play with Virginia at the KFC Yum! Center

By: Kim Pemberton

GAME 13
Date: Dec. 28, 2016
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (107-14 in 7th year)
Television: ESPN2 - Doug Sherman, play-by-play; Dick Vitale, analyst.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) - Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (Sirius channel 84, XM 84, Internet 84)
Series History: UofL trails 4-8 (3-4 in Louisville, 1-4 in Charlottesville)
Last Meeting: Virginia 68, UofL 46 (March 5, 2016 in Charlottesville, Va.)
UofL National Ranking: seventh USA Today, sixth Associated Press
Officials: Bill Covington, Jr., Keith Kimble, Brian O'Connell
Next UofL Game: Dec. 31 vs. Indiana in the Countdown Classic, Bankers Life Arena, Indianapolis, Ind., 12:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

After a week off, Louisville will play its fifth straight at home in the KFC Yum! Center as the Cardinals play their first ACC game of the season against the Virginia Cavaliers on Wednesday. The ACC opener for both schools will match the second-earliest conference opener for the Cardinals. It is one of the first two conference games of the season that night. Louisville won its sixth straight with a 73-70 victory over No. 6 Kentucky on Dec. 21 in its last outing as Quentin Snider -- named ACC Player of the Week -- totaled 22 points, six rebounds and five assists to earn Bluegrass Sports Commission MVP honors.

Three Cardinals are averaging double figures after playing in 12 games. Junior Quentin Snider leads the team in scoring with 11.9 points per game. Donovan Mitchell is second in scoring with 11.8 points per game while Deng Adel is the third leading scorer with 10.4 points per game. Jaylen Johnson leads the team on the boards with 7.9 rebounds per game while also averaging 9.8 points per game. Snider leads the team with 47 assists on the year.

As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from behind the arc. UofL is averaging 44.6 rebounds per game while holding opponents to just 35.8 rebounds a game.

Virginia (10-1), ranked 12th by AP and 11^th by USA Today, has lost only to No. 11 West Virginia. The Cavaliers had the week off after winning 56-52 at California on Dec. 21. The Cavaliers have won three straight games, including
a 56-52 at California on Dec. 21 as Kyle Guy led UVa with 17 points off the bench. Virginia committed just seven turnovers in the game and limited Cal to 35.3 percent shooting from the field.

The Cavaliers are among the top five nationally in scoring defense (1st in the nation, 47.2 ppg), scoring margin (3rd,
+22.6), field goal percentage defense (2nd, .340), fewest turnovers per game (1st, 9.0 per game) and assist-turnover ratio (third, 1.85). Virginia is 11th nationally in turnover margin (+5.2) and 16th nationally in field goal percentage (.498).

Virginia has an 8-4 series advantage over Louisville, winning three of the last four matchups. The Cavaliers won both meetings last season, including a 68-46 victory in Charlottesville in the final regular season game (3/5/16).

CARD FILE

Louisville has won its conference opening game in seven of the last eight seasons. The Cardinals have a 10-5 record in its first league home game in Coach Rick Pitino's first 15 seasons at UofL.
Louisville has a 31-4 record during the month of December over the last five years, winning 19 of its last 22 in that month.
Louisville has a 10-2 record in games following at least a seven day break over the last five years (since 2012-13). The Cardinals beat Eastern Ky. earlier this season after a week off.
UofL Coach Rick Pitino, who has a 402-135 record in his 16th season at Louisville, won his 400th victory with the Cardinals on Dec. 10. He won his 750th career collegiate victory when the Cards beat Wichita State on Nov. 24. He is one of five active coaches with at least 750 victories.
Donovan Mitchell leads the ACC and is 19^th in the nation in steals (2.3 per game). His seven steals against Old Dominion matched the fourth most ever at UofL. His 27 steals in 12 games is two more than he had his entire freshman year.
Louisville's 157 victories over the last six years are the fifth-most wins in the nation in that stretch. The Cards are one of just three teams to win at least 30 games in three of the last five seasons (30-10 in 2011-12, 35-5 in '12-13, 31-6 in '13-14).
Louisville has opened with at least an 11-1 record through 12 games for the seventh straight season. The Cardinals' best start in that stretch was 16-1 during UofL's 2012-13 NCAA Championship season.
Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 14 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga).