Louisville Knocks Off #2 Virginia in 59-57 Thriller, Clinches ACC Double-Bye

After the dismissal of guard Chris Jones, 16th-ranked Louisville dropped a game to Syracuse, a team the Cardinals have had little trouble with over the years. And after an ugly 52-51 road win over lowly Georgia Tech, I thought that maybe the wheels had come off the wagon.

Then they blitzed a better Florida State team by 22 in Tallahassee and, I thought, okay, not so fast. But next up came a humbling 12 point home loss to 12th-ranked Notre Dame and I began to believe that maybe they were just not going to be able to beat an NCAA-Tournament-level team, like the Fighting Irish, without Jones.

But then #2 Virginia enters the KFC Yum! Center late on Saturday afternoon, bringing with it one of the top two best defenses in the country AND a 28-1 record AND a perfect mark in road games.

Yikes!

Well...so much for "yikes." With just under three seconds left in the game and with Louisville trailing the Cavaliers 58-57, forward Mangok Mathiang--who hadn't scored the entire game, by the way--nails a mid-range jumper to put the Cards up one.

A subsequent inbound pass from Virginia actually went OUT of bounds at the other end of the court. And the Cavs turnover seals the win for Louisville.

What a great game! And what a great result for Louisville. With this win, the Cardinals have now clinched the 4-seed in the ACC Tournament, which begins Tuesday in Greensboro.

Of course, with that double-bye advantage, Louisville won't play until Thursday and their opponent will be either North Carolina, Georgia Tech, or Boston College.