Louisville Cardinals vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 1/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Louisville Cardinals vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Location: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA

TV: ESPN+

The Virginia Cavaliers (8-5) welcome the Louisville Cardinals (9-5) at John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday.

The Louisville Cardinals faced off with North Carolina and walked away with a win by a score of 83-70 in their last contest. Louisville walked away from the contest having earned a 44.8% FG percentage (26 out of 58) and made 6 out of their 26 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Cardinals knocked down 25 of 39 attempts for a rate of 64.1%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected 40 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 14 assists in this game as well as forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Pertaining to defending, Louisville allowed the other team to shoot 40.0% from the field on 24 of 60 shooting. North Carolina totaled 11 assists and had 4 steals in this game. Moreover, North Carolina grabbed 36 boards (6 offensive, 30 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. North Carolina finished shooting 78.3% from the free throw line by burying 18 of their 23 attempts. They also knocked down 4 out of their 16 attempts from 3-point land. In regard to fouls, the Cardinals ended up walking away with 21 while North Carolina finished the game with 29 fouls.

Chucky Hepburn is one guy who was a factor in the game. He racked up 26 points on 5 out of 8 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 minutes played and also pulled down 2 rebounds. He finished the game at 62.5% from the field and totaled 7 assists.

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Louisville comes into this one with a record of 9-5 for the season. They have an average of 78.4 pts per game (115th in college) while going 43.0% from the floor. The Cardinals are shooting 29.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (132 of 448) and 71.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Louisville is pulling in 38.4 rebounds per game and has 187 assists this season, which has them ranked 200th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 11.9 times per contest and as a team they commit 16.6 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Cardinals are forcing 14.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.1 personal fouls. They give up 35.6% on 3-point attempts and they rank 200th in D-1 in PPG allowed (71.6). The Cardinals defense is allowing a FG percentage of 44.7% (362 of 810) and they surrender 33.9 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are currently ranked 161st in Division 1 in giving up assists with 169 conceded this year.

In their last game, the Virginia Cavaliers went home victorious with a score of 70-67 when they faced North Carolina State. Regarding team rebounding, Virginia allowed North Carolina State to collect 31 overall (11 offensive). They finished the game shooting 34.8% from distance by shooting 8 out of 23 and ended up going 11 of 15 at the free throw line (73.3%). The Cavaliers allowed North Carolina State to convert 24 of 54 tries from the floor which left them shooting 44.4% for the game. When the final whistle was blown, the Cavaliers finished the game shooting 26 for 48 from the floor which had them sitting at 54.2%. In the matter of shots from distance, Virginia converted 9 of their 20 attempts (45.0%). They were able to knock down 9 of them for a rate of 75.0%. North Carolina State committed 16 fouls for this contest which took the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 12 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while getting 3 steals for the contest. The Cavaliers were able to corral 17 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive boards for a total of 20 in this contest.

Elijah Saunders ended up being a factor for the Cavaliers for the game. He tallied 22 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 assists in this game. He knocked down 7 out of 9 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 77.8%, and had 5 rebounds.

Virginia has a win-loss record of 8-5 for the year. When it comes to offense, the Cavaliers are connecting on 44.4% from the field, which ranks 219th in the country. Virginia has earned 809 points so far this year (62.2 per contest) and they pull down 31.6 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 14.6 times per contest (154th in college) and they are turning it over 11.5 times per game. The Cavaliers commit 13.7 fouls per game and they go 72.8% from the charity stripe.

The Cavaliers on the defensive side of the court are 11th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 60.8. They are forcing 9.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 39.7% from the field (46th in the nation). The Virginia defense gives up 32.2% on shots from distance (104 of 323) and opponents are knocking down 72.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 11.5 dimes and 32.3 rebounds per game, which ranks 81st and 80th in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Louisville

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