The ACC has seen many of its top teams come out of the gates sluggish, but Louisville and Virginia Tech each has suffered just one loss and will be playing for an early spot atop the conference standings on Wednesday night in Louisville.
Louisville’s lone loss came when point guard Carlik Jones was sidelined with the team coming off a COVID layoff against Wisconsin. The Cardinals have not allowed more than 70 points when Jones is in the lineup.
Both teams enter the game in the top 40 among Division I teams in rebound rate with Louisville ranked 28th and Virginia Tech 38th. The Hokies have the edge in outside shooting, making 36.5 percent of their 3-point shot attempts to Louisville’s 33.8 percent. But Virginia Tech has issues guarding the arc, rating 230th in the nation in opponents’ 3-point shooting percentage.
When Jones plays for Louisville, opponents make just 26.6 percent of their outside shots, which would put it in the top 30 nationally in that category. The Cardinals also have four different players who pull in more than six rebounds per game, which should allow them to control Wednesday’s contest.
The play: Louisville, -3.5