Louisville vs. Virginia prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball
01/03/2025 03:26 PM
We’re back with yet another betting prediction and pick for Saturday’s College Basketball slate as we head to the ACC for this next showdown between rivals. The Louisville Cardinals (9-5, 2-1 ACC) will visit the Virginia Cavaliers (8-5, 1-1 ACC) as both teams try to make moves in the conference standings. It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Louisville-Virginia prediction and pick.
The Louisville Cardinals most recently took down North Carolina 83-70 in a dominant showing for their third win in a row. They’ve won three of their last four games, owning a signature win over No. 14 Indiana from earlier in the season. They’ll look for four-straight as the short betting favorites on the road.
The Virginia Cavaliers most recently beat NC State 70-67 for back-to-back wins follow another victory over American. Four of their five losses this season have come against ranked opposition, but they’ll have a favorable matchup in their home building where they’re 7-1 so far on the season.
Here are the Louisville-Virginia College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Louisville-Virginia Odds
Louisville: -3.5 (-115)
Moneyline: -176
Virginia: +3.5 (-105)
Moneyline: +146
Over: 129.5 (-110)
Under: 129.5 (-110)
How to Watch Louisville vs. Virginia
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET/ 1:00 p.m. PT
TV: ACC Network
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Louisville Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Louisville Cardinals have face five ranked teams so far this season, notching a win in just one of those meetings. They’re an incredible team when standing across lesser competition, but the question all season will be whether they can win the big games against ranked ACC foes. The Cardinals are very stout with their zone perimeter defense and they’re a very unselfish team in their half court offense, constantly swinging the ball and rarely settling for bad shots.
Good team win #GoCardspic.twitter.com/V2nM6gQEWA
— Louisville Men’s Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) January 3, 2025
Transfer Chucky Hepburn was sensational with 26 points in the win over North Carolina and both he and Reyne Smith combining for 43 of the Cardinals’ 83 points. They make their living with mid-range shooting and they do a great job of utilizing the pick-and-roll to free up their guards on pull-up jumpers. If this offense can remain as active as they did against the Tar Heels, they should be able to find enough scoring production to cruise to a victory in this one.
Why Virginia Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Virginia Cavaliers looked very resilient in their latest win over NC State as they rallied from a 29-43 deficit at the start of the second half. Elijah Saunders carried the load for them with 22 points while Isaac McKneeley made four three-pointers during the effort. The Cavaliers play a similar style to Louisville on offense with much less chaos and more time to set up their spot-up shots. They’re shooting an efficient 38.5% from three and have been eclipsing that mark over their last few wins.
Yesterday’s @FlowAutomotive Drive of the Game from our win vs. NC State!#GoHoospic.twitter.com/lKkDbwGmBw
— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) January 1, 2025
The Virginia defense managed to create 11 turnovers for NC State in their last game, which is impressive considering NCSU ranks first in the ACC in fewest turnovers. This perimeter defense does a great job of anticipating the passing lanes as they total five team steals a game. It’s no secret that much of their success will come from being able to hit their three-point shots, so expect the Cavaliers to continue swinging the ball along the perimeters and kicking it out from the paint to find open looks.
Final Louisville-Virginia Prediction & Pick
We’ll have another fun matchup in the ACC as both these teams meet to continue their conference schedules. Louisville has gone 7-7 ATS on the season while the Cavaliers have gone just 5-8 ATS. Louisville is certainly a more faceted team in the ways they can score the ball and if they’re able to break through this Virginia perimeter, they stand to see a ton of success with their mid-range game once again.
Virginia, however, is very dangerous when heating up from three and they’ll be prone to doing so in their home building where they’re 7-1 this season. Virginia should have the slight advantage on the defensive end of the floor, which could be trouble for a Louisville team averaging 11.9 turnovers a game.
Nevertheless, we like the talent in the Louisville back court and if this turns into a high-scoring affair, I like the chances of Louisville finding crucial buckets down the stretch more reliably than the three-point shooting of Virginia. Expect another big game out of Chucky Hepburn as the Louisville Cardinals cover the spread on the road.
Final Louisville-Virginia Prediction & Pick: Louisville Cardinals -3.5 (-115)
The post Louisville vs. Virginia prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball appeared first on ClutchPoints.
