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The Virginia Tech Hokies will host the Louisville Cardinals in an ACC showdown on Saturday afternoon. The winner of the matchup will take over third place in the conference standings.
The Cardinals were forced to postpone their previous three scheduled outings after several players and staff tested positive for COVID-19. Head coach Chris Mack is one of the known positive cases on the team. Mack has stated that he is "experiencing mild symptoms" but will not be on the sidelines for Saturday's game.
Meanwhile, the Hokies have recently had their own schedule adjusted. They were set to face against their in-state rivals, the Virginia Cavaliers, earlier in the week, but the game was postponed after a member of the Cavaliers staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Match Details
Fixture: Louisville Cardinals vs Virginia Tech Hokies - NCAA Men's Basketball
Date and Time: Saturday, February 13, 12:00 PM ET
Venue: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Virginia
Louisville Cardinals Preview
The Louisville Cardinals returned to practice on Wednesday after a second COVID-19 pause this season. It is their first collective practice since February 2.
The Cardinals' play this season has been much like their regular-season schedule — inconsistent. They have bounced in and out of the AP Top-25 Poll three times during the first 12 weeks of the season and were seeded as high as 16 less than a month ago.
The last game we saw of the Louisville Cardinals in action was their 74-58 win against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on February 1. In the game, the Cardinals were able to produce most of their scoring from their experienced backcourt. Their two starting guards scored a combined 36 points.
The Louisville Cardinals will need to brush off their rust from not playing in nearly two weeks and continue to get large production out of their backcourt to defeat the talented Virginia Tech Hokies.
Key Player - Samuel Willamson
Although the Louisville Cardinals did most of their scoring from the perimeter in their victory over the Yellow Jackets, their sophomore center, Samuel Williamson, had a career-high night off the bench.
The former McDonald's All-American scored 20 points and collected 18 rebounds on 61.5% shooting. He gave the Cardinals what they needed to stay in contention for the regular-season conference championship, as they lost three of their last four games heading into their matchup against Georgia Tech.
Williamson will need to continue his career-best night against the Virginia Tech Hokies if the Louisville Cardinals are to take over third place in the ACC.
Louisville Cardinals' Predicted Lineup
F Jae'Lyn Withers, F Quinn Slazinski, F Dre Davis, G Carlik Jones, G David Johnson
Virginia Tech Hokies Preview
The Virginia Tech Hokies are 14-4 overall this season and are real contenders in the ACC. However, their season has been a roller coaster. They recently suspended their second-highest leading scorer, Tyrece Radford, from the team indefinitely.
Meanwhile, senior forward Cordell Pemsel has been out since December with a back injury. Their senior transfer from Kansas State, Cartier Diarra, who averaged 13.3 points last season, also opted out due to health concerns.
To make matters worse, their starting guard, Jalen Cone, who scored 23 points against the Cardinals in the first matchup this season, suffered an injury during their victory over the Miami Hurricanes last Saturday.
Here's what the Virginia Tech Hokies coach, Mike Young, had to say about his team's ability to overcome their challenges this season, via roanoke.com:
"I credit our team for that … next-man-up mentality. They’ve done a great job with that when Tyrece was sidelined. … I hope that Jalen’s in our lineup [against the Louisville Cardinals]."
The Virginia Tech Hokies have gotten production from every player on the roster this season. They have nine players averaging more than double-digit minutes and eight earning over 19 minutes per game.
The Hokies will need to continue playing team basketball and getting strong production off their bench to defeat the Cardinals.
Key Player - Keve Aluma
Keve Aluma is the key player for the Virginia Tech Hokies. The junior forward leads the team with 15.7 points and 7.6 assists a game on 49.5% shooting.
However, in the first matchup against the Louisville Cardinals, Aluma only had 11 points and accounted for zero assists.
With Jalen Cone being questionable for Saturday's game, Aluma needs to notch up his play to earn the Hokies their ninth conference win.
Virginia Tech Hokies' Predicted Lineup
F Justyn Mutts, F Keve Aluma, G Wabissa Bede, G Nahiem Alleyne, G Jalen Cone
Louisville vs Virginia Tech Prediction
Both teams are currently dealing with multiple challenges, so the game will come down to the team with the most mental toughness. The Louisville Cardinals won their first matchup against the Virginia Tech Hokies this season, 73-71.
We expect another close matchup this time around. However, with Louisville not playing in nearly two weeks, they will likely come rusty in the first half, giving Virginia Tech an additional edge.
According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index, the Virginia Tech Hokies have a 63.2% chance of defeating the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday afternoon.
Where to watch Louisville vs Virginia Tech
The game will be broadcast live on the ACC Network through ESPN+.
