Read more for our full Virginia vs North Carolina prediction and preview.
Virginia basketball looks for its fourth straight road victory as it hits the road to battle North Carolina on Saturday afternoon. The Cavaliers were blown out by No. 3 Duke on Monday and the Tar Heels dominated NC State on Wednesday.
General Information:
Teams: Virginia (13-13, 6-9) and North Carolina (16-11, 9-6)
Tip time: 4 p.m. EST
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: Virginia Sports Radio Network and SiriusXM 386
Latest on North Carolina basketball:
North Carolina last played Wednesday, soundly defeating NC State 97-73. The Tar Heels went on a 13-2 run early in the first half and never looked back. Graduate guard R.J. Davis led all scorers with 21 points and junior guard Seth Trimble chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
It’s been a disappointing season in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels were projected to finish second in the ACC and were ranked No. 9 in the country in the preseason poll. North Carolina is just 1-10 in Quad 1 games and also has a Quad 3 loss — Stanford beat them 72-71 on Jan. 18 in Chapel Hill — on its resume. Entering play, North Carolina sits sixth in the ACC, meaning it’d have to play in the second round of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte next month.
For years, the Tar Heels were known for their ability to crash the offensive glass. This year, however, North Carolina is rebounding just over 25% of its missed shots, 247th in the country. That’s third-to-last in the ACC, ahead of only Wake Forest and Virginia.
The one thing that’s still the same is tempo. The Tar Heels love to push the pace, ranking 27th in the country at 74 possessions per game. It’s always an interesting combination of styles when the Tar Heels and Cavaliers square off.
Davis leads North Carolina with 17.5 points per game, which ranks sixth in the ACC. The Cavs need to be careful while defending him. If they foul Davis while he’s shooting, it’s pretty much guaranteed points — his 86.2% from the charity stripe is the highest mark in North Carolina history.
Latest on Virginia basketball:
Virginia is coming off an 80-62 loss to No. 3 Duke. The Blue Devils dominated on the glass, especially in the first half. In the first 20 minutes, freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg had 11 rebounds, while the Cavaliers had eight as a team. Virginia’s offense — which had become efficient over the past few weeks — was held in check by Duke’s elite defense. Junior guard Andrew Rohde and sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames led the Cavs with 15 points apiece.
The loss was a dose of reality for the Cavaliers. Prior to the game, Virginia had won four of its last five, including its first victory in Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum in nearly five years. However, getting blown out by Duke is a reminder that this Cavaliers team is a far cry from the Virginia teams that won six ACC regular season crowns from 2014-23.
The Cavs are still in the ACC Tournament picture. They sit in the 11 seed, three games up on the three teams that are on the outside looking in. Virginia is also a game back of the three-way tie — Florida State, Pitt and Georgia Tech all sit at 7-8 — for the eighth spot. If the Cavaliers can finish ninth or higher, they’ll get a crucial opening-round bye, and a win today in Chapel Hill would be a big confidence booster for this team.
While Davis has struggled in the past against Virginia, it was because Reece Beekman was hounding him at every turn. Unfortunately, Beekman won’t be emerging from the tunnel in Chapel Hill today; and with all due respect to Rohde, Ames and the other UVa guards, there’s nobody on this Cavalier team who’s as good a defender as Beekman.
Expect Davis to have a big day, and he’ll close out the game in the final minutes.