The Virginia men’s basketball team suffered its second loss of the season Saturday night at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, falling to the No. 16 Cardinals 59-57 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Junior guard Malcolm Brogdon gave the No. 2 Cavaliers (28-2, 16-2 ACC) a one-point lead when he sank a 3-pointer from the right wing with nine seconds remaining, but sophomore forward Mangok Mathiang answered for Louisville (24-7, 12-6 ACC) with a free-throw line jump shot three seconds before the final horn.
After Mathiang’s only field goal of the night put the Cardinals up 58-57, Virginia coach Tony Bennett called timeout, but junior forward Evan Nolte’s long inbounds pass sailed out of play, giving Louisville the ball once more. Sophomore guard Terry Rozier made a free throw with 0.7 seconds to play to supply the final margin, with Virginia too short on time to get off a quality shot.
Brogdon and Louisville junior forward Montrezl Harrell starred in their teams’ last games before next week’s ACC Tournament, with Brogdon scoring 16 points in the second half after making just a free throw in the first. Harrell fought through intense back pain to post 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, also recording his 300th collegiate dunk in the first half.
A game after roaring back against Syracuse, Virginia started slowly again, falling behind 19-5 on Harrell’s steal and breakaway jam with 12:43 to go in the first half. But the Cavaliers battled back and went into halftime down just 30-25.
Virginia seized its first lead of the evening after Brogdon knocked down a 3-pointer out of a Cavalier timeout and — half a minute later — stole the ball from Louisville freshman guard Quentin Snider before finding senior forward Darion Atkins for a go-ahead dunk.
The Cardinals, though, regained the advantage and led by eight with 5:56 on the clock. Nolte sank a 3-pointer off a kick-out from junior center Mike Tobey to tie the score at 52 with 4:11 remaining, setting up the wild finish.
Virginia enters the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. as the No. 1 seed, while Louisville grabbed the No. 4 seed with the win. Both teams will enjoy a double-bye.
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