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Top 10 foes Virgina and Louisville meet in ACC action

A marquee matchup in the ACC is on tap at John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday night, as the third-ranked Virginia Cavaliers play host to the ninth-ranked Louisville Cardinals.

Tony Bennett's Cavaliers won the ACC regular-season and tournament titles last season and have certainly looked like a champion in defense of that this year. The team opened the season with 19 straight wins before suffering its first and only loss last weekend to Duke (69-63). Virginia showed its mettle however, just two days later, getting back in the win column with a 75-64 victory over 12th-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill. At 8-1 in conference play, Virginia still sits atop the league standings.

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Rick Pitino's Cardinals are just one game back at 7-2. Louisville has won four straight games to move to 19-3 on the season and enters this contest off a 63-55 victory over Miami at the BankUnited Center on Tuesday. With the win, Louisville moved to 5-1 on the road this season.

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Virginia leads the all-time series by a count of 5-3. This is the first meeting between these programs since 1990, when Louisville earned a 72-56 decision in Charlottesville. These two teams will meet again in the regular- season finale at the KFC Yum! Center on March 7.

Louisville was on fire in the first half at Miami this week, shooting a scalding .682 from the floor (15-of-22), while earning a nine-point lead at the break. The Cardinals cooled off considerably in the second half (.308), but were able to nab another key road win in conference play. Terry Rozier was once again magnificent in the win, netting a game-high 22 points. Montrezl Harrell just missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Chris Jones checked in with 16 points.

Rozier has been outstanding this season and is certainly bucking for All- America honors. The sophomore guard leads the ACC in scoring at 18.5 ppg and has really poured it on of late, averaging 21.0 ppg over the last 15 outings. Harrell is the perfect complement with his interior dominance. The 6-8 junior is also an All-America candidate, averaging a near double-double with 15.4 points (seventh in the ACC) and 9.2 rebounds (fourth in the ACC) per outing. Jones (13.7 ppg) and Wayne Blackshear (11.2 ppg) provide even more scoring depth for a team that nets 73.1 ppg.

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The Cardinals will be hard-pressed to reach their usual scoring numbers against one of the nation's premier defensive squads. Virginia has been defensive-minded under Bennett, but this may be the best the Cavs have performed at that end of the floor under their coach's watchful eye. Virginia leads the nation in scoring defense (50.8 ppg) and ranks third nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.355). In addition, the Cavaliers own an impressive +9.5 rebounding margin (fifth nationally). The offense is led by a trio of double-digit scoring threats in Justin Anderson, Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill. Anderson is the team's resident sniper, shooting a scorching .500 from behind the arc (46-of-92), while netting 13.9 ppg. Brogdon is a close second in the scoring column at 13.6 ppg, followed by Gill at 11.0 ppg.

Trailing by a single point at the half (33-32), Virginia put the defensive clamps on North Carolina after the break, holding the Tar Heels to a mere .379 shooting effort over the final 20 minutes and running away with the victory at the Smith Center. Virginia shot the ball extremely well throughout the contest, finishing with a .518 effort from the floor overall. Four Cavaliers notched double figures in the win, led by Brogdon's 17 points. Anderson poured in 16 points, while London Perrantes and Gill checked in with 15 and 13 points, respectively.

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[SportsNetwork.com]

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