Cavs close out against Cardinals

Mar 7, 2015 - 4:15 PM Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Top-25 action is on tap at the KFC Yum! Center, as the second-ranked Virginia Cavaliers and 16th-ranked Louisville Cardinals collide in an ACC curtain call for both squads.

Tony Bennett's Cavaliers are now the two-time ACC regular-season champions, as Virginia has just one loss on the season. That loss came on Jan. 31 at Duke. The Cavs have won nine straight games since and kept its win streak going with Monday's 59-47 road win at Syracuse, which captured the outright conference crown.

Rick Pitino's Cardinals certainly ascerted themselves as a powerhouse in their first season in the ACC. Louisville is still jockeying for position in the ACC standings, but Wednesday's humbling home loss to Notre Dame (71-59) didn't help. With the setback to the Irish, the Cards are now 11-6 in conference play, tied with North Carolina for fourth place in the league standings.

Virginia holds a 6-3 advantage in the all-time series with Louisville and is seeking the regular-season sweep after earning a 52-47 victory in Charlottesville on Feb. 7.

The Cavaliers got off to a slow start, scoring just one field gola over the first 13 minutes of the game, but made up for lost time, going on a 35-12 run spanning the first and second halves to earn the victory and its second straight conference title. Anthony Gill led the way with a near double-double of 17 points and nine rebounds. London Perrantes did complete the feat with 10 points and 10 assists. Malcolm Brogdon and Mike Tobey also added 10 points as well to the cause.

Even with a sluggish offensive performance, Virginia is still in games thanks to some of the nation's best defensive play. The Cavaliers lead the nation in scoring defense (50.0 ppg) and second in field-goal percentage defense (.353). Brogdon is the top offensive option at 13.6 ppg. The team has had to deal with the loss of Justin Anderson (13.4 ppg) to injury over the last couple of weeks and the talented guard will miss the season finale after having his appendix removed. His status for the ACC Tournament is up in the air. Gill (11.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg) is the top frontcourt option. Darion Atkins (7.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Tobey (7.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg) are solid role players.

Louisville has faced adversity as well of late, with the recent dismissal of guard Chris Jones, who was a key contributor at both ends of the floor (13.7 ppg, 53 steals). The good news is that stars Terry Rozier and Montrezl Harrell are still leading the charge. Rozier is having a superb sophomore season, ranking fourth in the conference in scoring at 17.2 ppg. Harrell is a force in the frontcourt, averaging 15.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game (third in the ACC). Wayne Blackshear (10.4 ppg) is another offensive threat, but the scoring pool dries up fast after that.

Harrell had a big game against Notre Dame, although his 23-point, 12-rebound double-double was wasted in a 12-point loss. Rozier and Blackshear put up 11 points apiece, but the remainder of the roster mustered just 14 points total.