Louisville Cardinals vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 1/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Louisville Cardinals vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Location: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA

TV: ESPN

The Louisville Cardinals (5-7) are headed to John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday where they will take on the Virginia Cavaliers (10-3).

The Louisville Cardinals faced off with Kentucky and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 95-76 in their last contest. Louisville finished the contest having earned a 42.4% FG percentage (25 out of 59) and made 4 of their 17 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Cardinals buried 22 of 31 shots for a rate of 71.0%. In the matter of rebounding, they collected a total of 30 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 14 assists for the game in addition to forcing 12 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Regarding the defense, Louisville let their opponent shoot 51.5% from the floor on 35 of 68 shooting. Kentucky recorded 19 assists and had 9 steals for this contest. Additionally, Kentucky collected 37 rebounds (11 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Kentucky ended up going 81.3% at the free throw line by making 13 of 16 attempts. They made 12 out of their 25 attempts from long range. Concerning fouls, the Cardinals ended up finishing with 14 and Kentucky recorded 21 fouls.

Skyy Clark is one guy who was a major contributor in this contest. He ended up going 54.5% from the floor and also distributed 5 dimes. He played for 36 minutes and collected 1 rebound. He finished with 20 points on 6 out of 11 shooting.

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Louisville comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 5-7 for the year. They turn it over 12.7 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.8 personal fouls every game. As a team, Louisville is pulling in 38.3 boards per game and has 132 dimes on the season, which ranks 346th in the country in terms of passing. The Cardinals are connecting on 28.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (63 of 218) and 73.5% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 74.6 points per game (192nd in college basketball) while going 41.9% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Cardinals have forced 12.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.6 fouls. They currently rank 209th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 170 surrendered so far this season. The Cardinals defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 45.3% (327 of 722) and they surrender 35.4 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are giving up 30.6% on 3-point attempts and they are 286th in the nation in opponents PPG (75.4).

In their last game, the Virginia Cavaliers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 76-54 against Notre Dame. The Cavaliers were able to collect 16 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 25 for this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 8 steals in the game. Notre Dame was called for 14 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 18 tries. They were able to knock down 10 of those for a percentage of 55.6%. With respect to three-point attempts, Virginia buried 2 of their 11 attempts (18.2%). Overall, the Cavaliers shot 21 for 55 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 38.2%. The Cavaliers permitted Notre Dame to knock down 26 of 51 attempts from the field which left them shooting 51.0% for this contest. They finished 47.8% from three-point range by going 11 out of 23 and ended up shooting 13 of 17 at the free throw line (76.5%). In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Virginia permitted Notre Dame to snag 39 in total (10 on the offensive glass).

Reece Beekman ended up being a factor for the Cavaliers in the matchup. He accumulated 15 points in his 34 minutes on the court and had 4 assists in this game. He buried 5 of 15 for this contest giving him a rate of 33.3%, and had 3 rebounds.

Virginia has a mark of 10-3 so far this year. The Cavaliers have committed 13.4 fouls per contest and they connect on 64.6% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 15.6 times per game (73rd in D-1) and they cough up possession 8.8 times per game. Virginia has 855 points so far this season (65.8 per game) and they collect 32.6 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cavaliers are hitting on 45.0% from the floor, which ranks them 173rd in Division 1.

The Cavaliers on the defensive end are ranked 3rd in the nation in points given up per game with 56.2. They are able to force 14.5 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 37.8% from the field (16th in college hoops). The Virginia defense allows 29.8% on shots from beyond the arc (79 of 265) and their opponents are making 70.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 10.8 assists and 35.4 total boards per game, which is 57th and 202nd in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Virginia

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