Before Virginia handed Louisville the worst loss the Cardinals have ever suffered at the KFC Yum! Center, Coach Tony Bennett reminded his team, the two-time defending ACC regular season champions, of their talent and told them to believe. The simple message helped the Cavaliers pull themselves out of a funk that had manifested itself in three consecutive conference losses on the road in January.
The short-term payoff for Virginia is a renewed sense of self-belief. There was no talk of low energy or slow starts after their second straight road win and fourth in a row overall, Saturday’s dominant 63-47 win over then-No.