The Louisville Cardinals and the West Virginia Mountaineers meet Thursday in college basketball action from Imperial Arena. Here’s a West Virginia vs Louisville prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best West Virginia vs Louisville pick.
Louisville Cardinals Betting Preview
The Cardinals got off to a nice start with a blowout win over Morehead State in their opener 93-45, but then fell 77-55 versus Tennessee in game two. Louisville has since hit its stride with wins over Bellarmine, Winthrop, and Indiana in the last three outings.
Matched up against the Hoosiers on Wednesday. Louisville held a 37-29 edge going into the second half. The Cardinals hit a 52-32 surge in the second half and demolished Indiana 89-61. Both Noah Waterman and Chucky Hepburn (10 assists) led the team with 16 points each. Louisville will face Ole Miss following this one.
West Virginia Mountaineers Betting Preview
Over on the West Virginia side, they won their first two games over Robert Morris and UMass before a blowout loss 86-62 versus Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers have since recovered with wins over Iona and Gonzaga in their last pair.
In Wednesday’s game versus Gonzaga, the Mountaineers faced an eight-point deficit by the break. West Virginia fought back on a 40-32 run to force overtime and eventually took the upset win 86-78. Javon Small was the leading team scorer on 31 points and seven rebounds.
Why the West Virginia Mountaineers will win
- West Virginia has won each of its last six day games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.
- Louisville has lost eight of its last nine games played at neutral venues.
- Louisville has lost the first half in five of its last six games against non-Conference opponents at neutral venues.
Why the Louisville Cardinals will win
- West Virginia has lost seven of its last eight games played at neutral venues.
- Louisville has won four of its last five games.
- Louisville has won the first half in each of its last four games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Total Points Facts
- Each of West Virginia’s last 11 games against the Atlantic Coast Conference Conference have produced a total of 148 or fewer points.
- Nine of Louisville’s last 10 games against non-Conference opponents at neutral venues have produced a total of 150 or fewer points.
Matchup/League Facts
- West Virginia ranks 4th among Division 1 teams for blocks per game this season (7.2).
- West Virginia ranks T23rd among Division 1 teams for three-point field goals made per game this season (10.8).
- Louisville ranks 2nd among Division 1 teams for opponent assist to turnover ratio this season (0.52).
- Louisville ranks 3rd among Division 1 teams for opponent turnovers per game this season (19.8).
West Virginia vs Louisville Prediction
I’ll take a stab at Louisville here. The Cardinals played a stellar offensive game against Indiana on Wednesday—especially in the second half. Louisville shot a blistering 56.9 percent from the field with 23 team assists and 15 steals on 23 Hoosiers turnovers during the win. The 40-35 rebounding deficit (22-11 offensive) was just about the only blemish. It was Louisville’s best performance of the year, and they’ve now hit 76 or more points in all four of their wins.
As for West Virginia, they had a little bit of their own upset magic on Wednesday versus Gonzaga. The Mountaineers ended up shooting 41.3 percent from the field with 23-of-26 (88.5 percent) from the line and a 45-37 rebounding advantage. It was WVU’s second consecutive game scoring 86 points; the Mountaineers have now hit 75 or more points in all four of their wins.
Thursday’s matchup should be another great one, and you could certainly make a case for either team given what happened with Wednesday’s upsets. All things considered I like Louisville’s offense to topple the Mountaineers in another high-scoring affair, but funny things can happen on a neutral court. It’ll be a fun game to watch.