Louisville basketball: Three takeaways from Cards’s loss to Virginia

Louisville basketball hung in a back-and-forth battle with Virginia on Saturday, but faltered late.

Louisville basketball played a close game with Virginia once again but, just like so many times before, the Cavaliers pulled away late to extend their winning streak.

Let’s go in-depth on three things we learned from Louisville’s loss to UVA.

Louisville is playing at a high level once again

In the ACC conference, sometimes you can play at the highest level and come away with a loss. In Louisville’s case, they have taken a lot of lumps in February, and now into March, but most of their losses have come in close games against ranked opponents.

With that said, the Cards regressed quite a bit after their stunning comeback loss to Duke. They nearly choked away a late lead against Clemson the very next game, got blown out at Syracuse, blew a substantial halftime lead to Virginia, and then the wheels fell off in a terrible loss to Boston College. Since BC, Louisville had to re-group. They showed their grit against Notre Dame a week ago, and saw great contributions from bench players VJ King and Darius Perry.

Against Virginia, the Cards looked like they were close to returning to their best form. Unlike in much of February, when Louisville got hit in the mouth, they rolled with the punches and fought back. Louisville answered a 10-0 run from the Cavs with a 20-4 run of their own. They held a lead on Virginia, the No. 2 team in the country and now co-ACC champs, from the 12 minute mark until the 6 minute mark, and played them close to the final whistle.

Not only that, but Louisville played one of their best offensive games of the season against the best defensive squad in the country.

Only Duke has posted a higher offensive efficiency against Virginia this season. Even in a loss, Louisville is still playing at an extremely high level.

Cards still can’t crack Virginia code

This loss is Louisville’s 9th in a row to Virginia.

Every game, fans speculate that this is the time the Cards will turn it around. However, Louisville just can’t get over that Virginia hump.

I’m sure it’s the way that a lot of Virginia Tech supporters feel when they play Louisville. Yet, Louisville has gone into Blacksburg against a ranked Hokies team two years in a row and gotten wins to extend their streak to 13 straight games.

Virginia is a team that almost every team struggles to beat. A 9 game losing streak is not a surprise. However, the fashion in which the Cards have lost- holding at least a 6 point lead in their last 3 regular season match-ups- has been hard to swallow.

If Louisville pulls an upset or two in the ACC tournament, they will likely get a third stab at Virginia.

Louisville is a play or two away from greatness

Once again, the Cards fight hard and take a late second half lead, but just cannot hold on.

Still, as frustrating as it is, Louisville figures to have a chance against just about anyone in the NCAA tournament. In the postseason, games are called a little bit tighter. While Louisville has been the team to have the propensity to cough up leads, they have the opportunity to be the aggressor late with virtually zero pressure coming in.

The key for Louisville going forward is to continue to get into the lane in the late moments. The Cards thrive when they can drive and get to the free throw line. When the going gets tough, they often choose to take contested or out of rhythm jumpers in close late game situations.

If the Cards can solve the late game puzzle, a postseason run can still very well be within reach.

Louisville plays next on Wednesday at 7:00 pm against Tuesdays winner between Georgia Tech and Notre Dame.