Virginia Cavaliers vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction, 1/13/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Virginia Cavaliers vs Louisville Cardinals

Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY

TV: ESPN+

KFC Yum! Center is where the Louisville Cardinals (12-4) will take on the Virginia Cavaliers (14-2) on Tuesday.

The Virginia Cavaliers took the court against Stanford and notched a win by a score of 70-55 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Cavaliers ended up with 16 and Stanford had 15 fouls. They converted 5 out of their 26 tries from beyond the arc. Stanford finished the game shooting 82.4% at the free throw line by knocking down 14 of 17 shots. Moreover, Stanford totaled 26 rebounds (9 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Stanford doled out 9 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. In terms of defending, Virginia allowed 32.1% from the floor on 18 of 56 shooting. They also dished out 17 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing 7 turnovers and having 3 steals. When discussing hauling in boards, they compiled a total of 33 with 11 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Cavaliers converted 14 of their 17 shots for a rate of 82.4%. Virginia wrapped up the contest having earned a 43.9% field goal percentage (25 out of 57) and buried 6 of their 22 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Thijs De Ridder is a player who came through in the matchup. He shot 72.7% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes. He saw the court for 31 mins played and totaled 3 boards. He ended up finishing with 22 points on 8 of 11 shooting.

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Virginia comes into this one with a mark of 14-2 so far this year. They turn the ball over 10.7 times per game and as a team are committing 18.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Virginia is pulling in 41.9 boards per contest and has 281 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 61st in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Cavaliers are shooting 36.7% on three-point attempts (164 of 447) and 68.8% from the free throw line. They average 85.1 points per game (49th in Division 1) while connecting on 48.1% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Cavaliers are forcing 11.6 turnovers every game and they draw 19.2 personal fouls. They are 20th in college in giving up assists with 172 conceded for the year. The Cavaliers are giving up a FG percentage of 38.0% (358 of 942) and they surrender 32.8 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 28.8% from beyond the arc and they are 39th in the country in points per game allowed (66.8).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Louisville Cardinals walked away with a victory by a final of 75-62 when they played Boston College. Regarding rebounding, Louisville permitted Boston College to get 30 in all (6 on the offensive glass). They shot 32.1% from distance by connecting on 9 of 28 and walked away from this one shooting 7 of 16 at the charity stripe (43.8%). The Cardinals allowed Boston College to bury 23 of their 63 attempts from the field which left them shooting 36.5% for this contest. When all was said and done, the Cardinals shot 25 out of 51 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 49.0%. When it comes to shots from distance, Louisville converted 6 of their 21 attempts (28.6%). They were able to bury 19 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 76.0%. Boston College had 19 fouls for this contest which took the Cardinals to the charity stripe for a total of 25 tries. They turned the ball over 13 times, while recording 3 steals for the matchup. The Cardinals pulled down 36 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 for the contest.

Sananda Fru pitched in for the Cardinals for the game. He totaled 19 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood and added 1 assist for the contest. He converted 8 out of 9 for this contest for a rate of 88.9%, and had 13 rebounds.

Louisville has a win-loss record of 12-4 this year. The Cardinals have committed 19.7 personal fouls every game while shooting 77.3% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 17.8 times per contest (33rd in the nation) and they turn it over 11.8 times per game. Louisville has scored 1,413 pts on the year (88.3 per contest) and they average 42.0 boards per game. As an offense, the Cardinals are connecting on 46.8% from the floor, which is 112th in college hoops.

The Cardinals on the defensive end are ranked 90th in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 69.6. They are able to force 12.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 39.3% from the field (26th in D-1). The Louisville defense allows 31.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (119 of 378) and their opponents are knocking down 70.5% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 11.0 dimes and 33.6 total boards per game, which has them ranked 34th and 130th in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Louisville

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