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Virginia (8-10, 1-6 ACC) suffered a 81-67 loss to Louisville (13-5, 6-1 ACC) at the KFC YUM! Center on Saturday afternoon. Here are our five takeaways from UVA’s fifth-consecutive loss with Virginia losing four of those games by double digits.

Virginia vs. Louisville Live Updates | NCAA Men’s Basketball

The Cardinals ignited an 11-2 run midway through the first half to build up a lead they never looked back from as the Cavaliers stood no chance, similar to the first matchup this season. With a win on Saturday for the Cardinals, this is the second time Louisville has swept the season series against Virginia, with the first being during the 1989/90 season. The strong start for the Cardinals was powered by their powerful three-point shooter Reyne Smith, who started ¾ from beyond the arc, and Terrence Edwards Jr., who scored 12 points in the first half. In the second half, the Cavaliers never got the lead below 11 as the Cardinals extended their lead to as much as 21, which could have been significantly higher if the starters had remained in the game. 

Trying to find positives in a blowout contest is extremely difficult, but Elijah Saunders’ performance is certainly worth noting. The transfer from San Diego State was the only Virginia player to show up in the first half, scoring 11 points before finishing with 19 on the day. Saunders also buried three of his six attempts from three-point land, showcasing a range of ability to drive to the basket and shoot from range. With so much uncertainty looming in Charlottesville regarding who will hit the portal and who will coach next fall, Virginia fans should hope that Saunders stays for another year.  

Despite trailing by eleven at halftime, Virginia only committed three turnovers in the first half. Then, in the second half, things came crashing down for the Hoos as the team committed 12 turnovers, bringing the team to 15 on the day. We’ve said it all year on this outlet, and I’ll say it again: for a team like Virginia that plays at the slowest pace in the entire nation, turnovers are the most costly for the team in Charlottesville, which was shown on Saturday. 

The Reviville is real down in Louisville with the Cardinals sitting at 13-5, 6-1 ACC. With a decisive win over Clemson earlier in ACC play, the Cardinals find themselves as the second-best team in the ACC behind Duke, who appears to find themselves in a conference of its own in 2025. With transfers Reyne Smith and Chucky Hepburn providing instant offense, the Cardinals will be a team to watch in March. 

The Cavaliers have lost five straight games, with four of those games being double-digit losses. There’s not much hope for this team or a path that allows the Cavaliers to turn it around in 2025. With the loss on Saturday, Virginia currently sits second to last in the ACC only in front of Miami. If the Cavaliers finish in the bottom three of the ACC, they will miss the ACC tournament and not even have a shot at a miraculous auto-bid to the ACC tournament. 

The Cavaliers return to action on Tuesday, January 21st against Boston College at John Paul Jones Arena.

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West Virginia understands the challenge ahead of them with No. 2 Iowa State coming to town.

The Cyclones have been one of the bigger challenges in recent years due to what they do on the defensive end of the floor and that’s no different this year being perched at No. 5 nationally in the adjusted defensive efficiency ratings on KenPom.

That was after sitting at No. 1 in that department last year.

But the biggest difference in this version of Iowa State has been the improvements on the offensive end. The Cyclones are at No. 8 nationally in that category after sitting at No. 52 in the adjusted offensive efficiency ratings on KenPom last season.

“I was hoping maybe you all could come up with a weakness for me,” West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries joked. “But yeah, they’re good. I think they were really good last year too but the component they’ve improved the most is on the offensive side. Their bigs can really pass, they play well off one another, and I think it’s really complemented their guards from a year ago.”

Overall, Iowa State is averaging 85 points per game after that total being 75 last season. And they do it in a variety of ways with four players averaging in double figures although Milan Momcilovic is currently injured and three more scoring at least 6.0 points per contest.

“If they’re not the best, they’re one of the best. They’re one of the most balanced teams out there in terms of ways they can score and beat you. That’s what really elevated them to another level this year,” DeVries said.

Because of the way that Iowa State can attack it forces opposing defenses to make a lot of difficult decisions on the defensive side of the floor. It’s impossible to take away everything, so you must pick and choose.

“You’ve got to compete at every position to make things as difficult as possible,” DeVries said.

For West Virginia, the Mountaineers must take care of the basketball and prevent giving Iowa State easy opportunities in transition. West Virginia only had 12 turnovers against Houston, but the Cougars were able to turn that into a very efficient 25-points which was certainly a difference in the outcome.

“They’re out in the open floor and if you don’t have a set defense they’ll make you pay,” DeVries said.

West Virginia is going to have to do a lot of things right to knock off a Cyclones team that is playing as well together as any other team in the nation.

“I just think they all come in and all play well together I don’t think they care who scores, who doesn’t score. They play to win. They’re not about stats; they’re about winning they play that way,” DeVries said.