Virginia at Louisville Basketball Preview
y Josh Burton
Coming off a disheartening 54-52 loss to SMU, the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team is now 8-9 (1-5 in ACC play) and will once again try to right the ship as the Hoos head to Louisville to take on the Cardinals on Saturday. This one will tip at noon and air on ESPN2.
Louisville Lineup
Louisville has tweaked their lineup since we last saw them. One key bench player now starts as they have gone smaller with four guard lineups over their last 2 games. It has worked well for the Cards, having picked up road wins at Pitt and Syracuse. They now start:
G - #24 Chucky Hepburn (6’2” Senior, Wisconsin transfer, 15.6 points and 5.7 assists per game)
G - #5 Terrence Edwards Jr. (6’6” Super Senior, JMU transfer, 13.3 points per game)
G - #1 J’Vonne Hadley (6’6” Senior, Colorado transfer, 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game)
G - #6 Reyne Smith (6’2” Senior, Charleston transfer, 13.3 points per game)
F - #0 James Scott (6’11” Sophomore, Charleston transfer, 7.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game)
Smith had a big game against the Hoos last time. He'll certainly have the team's attention as they try and prevent him from getting open looks.
Blake’s Ballin’
Although the buzzer-beating loss to SMU was tough, there were some positives to take away. The team battled hard and even came back to take the lead after going down multiple possessions. In contract to recent contests when issues seemed to snowball into blowout margins. They hung tight against SMU, just couldn’t close the door.
The biggest star of the night was second-year forward Blake Buchanan. Blake provided a major lift for the Hoos, recording 11 points and 15 rebounds. He recently passed 800 career minutes, which has often been a turning point benchmark in the careers of past UVA big men. Look for Blake to try and build on that success.
As always, pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes before tip. Also, if you haven’t heard, our annual Locker Room Access meetup is next weekend before the Notre Dame game. Be sure to follow the forum for more details!
(Featured Image Credit: Josie Drumheller/UVA Athletics)