Wayne Blackshear may be the only senior on the Louisville roster, but it may be your last chance to see Terry Rozier and Montrezl Harrell in the home whites for the Cardinals.
GAME FACTS – Louisville vs. Virginia
Date: Saturday, March 7, 2015
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (80-12 in 5th yr.)
Television: ESPN – Dave O’Brien, play-by-play; Dick Vitale, analyst; Allison Williams, reporter.
Radio: WKRD ( (790 AM; joined in progress on WHAS 840 AM)) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Doug Ormay, analyst (Sirius 91, XM 91) Also: ESPN Radio — Bill Rosinski, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst.
Series History: Louisville trails 3-6 (2-3 in Louisville, 1-3 in Charlottesville)
Last Meeting: Virginia 52, UofL 47 (Feb. 7, 2015 at Charlottesville, Va.)
UofL National Ranking: 14th USA Today, 16th Associated Press
Officials: Mike Eades, Roger Ayers, Tim Clougherty
Next UofL Game: ACC Tournament, Greensboro, N.C., March 10-14 (TBA)
***** LAST MEETING
The Last Meeting
Virginia 52, Louisville 47 on Feb. 7 at Charlottesville
No. 9 Men’s Basketball Falls at No. 3 Virginia, 52-47
Terry Rozier scored 16 points and Montrezl Harrell added 12 for the Cardinals, but it wasn’t enough as Louisville fell at No. 3 Virginia, 52-47.
Game Notes vs. Virginia
Louisville plays its final game of the regular season on Senior Day at the KFC Yum! Center when the Cardinals face Virginia on Saturday. It is the annual “Wear Red for the Seniors” game, with Cardinal fans encouraged to wear red attire at the game. Louisville lost for the first time in four games in falling 71-59 to Notre Dame on March 4.
Louisville has three players averaging double figures. Rozier leads the Cards in scoring with 17.2 points per game. Montrezl Harrell ranks second with 15.6 points, while Wayne Blackshear averages 10.7 points. The Cardinals are solid on the boards, Harrell leads the team with 9.3 rebounds per game. Rozier ranks second on the team in rebounding with 5.3 per game.
Louisville ranks among the nation’s top 30 in nine statistical categories through games of March 4. Individually, Harrell is 29th nationally in rebounding (9.3) and 17th in field goal percentage (.577). Rozier is 28th in steals (2.0) and 72nd in scoring (17.2).
Virginia (28-1, 16-1 ACC), ranked second nationally in both polls, has won its last nine games since its lone loss of the season to Duke on Jan. 31. The Cavaliers won 59-47 at Syracuse on March 2 in its last game as Anthony Gill led UVa with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Leading the nation in scoring defense allowing 49.9 points per game, Virginia has held six teams under 40 points this year. The Cavaliers are also among the nation’s top ten in field goal percentage defense (.353, 2nd in the nation), rebound margin (+8.7, sixth), scoring margin (+15.8, sixth) and assists-to-turnovers ratio (1.44, 10th). Virginia is 13-0 on the road this year. All-America candidate Justin Anderson, who broke a finger in the game against Louisville on Feb. 7, has been sidelined since that game.
Louisville trails Virginia 3-6 in its series, but has won two of the last three meetings. Virginia prevailed 52-47 in Charlottesville earlier this season (2/7/15). The Cardinals were behind 24-13 at halftime of the game and cut a 13-point, second-half deficit to three before falling as Terry Rozier led Louisville with 16 points for the game.
CARDINAL NOTES:
• Louisville’s academic performance in the recently completed fall semester was impressive, with 15 of its 16 men’s basketball student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or better grade point average. The Cardinals posted a collective 3.33 GPA for the 2014 Fall Semester, just short of the team record of 3.47 achieved last fall.
• Louisville’s 119 victories over the last four years are tied with Wichita State for the most wins in the nation in that stretch. Louisville is the only school in the nation with three straight 30-win seasons, including a school-record 35 victories by its 2012-13 NCAA Title team.
• Terry Rozier has scored 22 or more points six times in the last 12 games, including 22 points at Georgia Tech (18 in the second half). He is fourth in the ACC in scoring (17.2 ppg) and second in steals.
• Louisville has a 25-5 record during the month of March over the last four years.
• Louisville has won its last 21 home games against opponents played on the road earlier in the same season (3-0 this year with wins over North Carolina, Pitt and Miami; 24-1 under Coach Rick Pitino). Virginia is the next opportunity for a similar rematch victory.
• Louisville has won 12 of its last 13 Senior Day games, including last year’s 81-48 victory over eventual national champion and No. 19 ranked Connecticut.
• Wayne Blackshear was honored as a Capital One Academic All-America second team selection on Feb. 26. PARSER
