Good, Bad and Ugly From UNC's Win Over No.14 Virginia

North Carolina got a massive upset victory over No. 14 Virginia yesterday on the road. This game silenced the doubters and showed what this UNC team could become.

After a slow start to ACC play, the Tar Heels have won two games in a row and are rolling. This game had huge NCAA Tournament implications, and the Tar Heels came out on top.

Here is the good, bad and ugly from UNC’s win over Virginia.

Good: UNC guards showed out

The guards from UNC have received a lot of criticism over the last few weeks, but they showed out against the Cavaliers. Freshman Derek Dixon was phenomenal in the ballgame. He played like a true point guard, which is what UNC has been missing all season. His ability to run the offense and throw deep outlet passes for easy buckets was very impressive.

Dixon finished with 11 points and seven assists, including two 3-pointers. He is a game-changer while he is on the court, and he gives UNC a consistent offensive flow throughout the game.

A reason why UNC has struggled is that it has had no continuity and has had trouble feeding its frontcourt duo down low. Dixon fixes all of those problems and may have just turned the season around for the Tar Heels. Seth Trimble and Luka Bogavac combined for 30 points, including five 3-pointers.

Bad: UNC dominated in 1st half

The first half was rough for UNC. The Tar Heels came out slow and looked unprepared. The frontcourt for the Cavaliers dominated the first half and did a great job of containing Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar.

Wilson and Veesaar only grabbed one rebound as a duo. Veesaar was 2-of-7 from the field and was really bothered by the length of Johann Grunloh and Ugonn Onyenso. Virginia’s Thij De Ridder had 13 points, five rebounds and two steals in the half.

The combination of UNC’s frontcourt being contained and De Ridder’s stellar half led to a perfect half for the Cavaliers. This propelled UVA to a 43-34 lead going into the break.

Ugly: UNC outmatched on the glass

The rebounding for the Tar Heels on both sides of the ball was awful. The Cavaliers built their lead on offensive rebounding. They had nine offensive rebounds in the first half, and UNC was flat-out getting outworked.

UVA finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Tar Heels 44-28. Veesaar and Wilson have to get better at getting a body on their man and securing the rebound.

Thankfully, the Tar Heels completed the comeback, or else the noise would be loud for UNC’s rebounding effort.

Please follow us on X when you click right HERE! Please make sure you follow us today on our Facebook page when you click right HERE!

Never again miss one major story related to your beloved Tar Heels when you sign up for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes straight to your email with the latest news. SIGN UP HERE NOW