Game Preview: Virginia Basketball at NC State

The Cavaliers look win back-to-back ACC road games

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Jan 21, 2022 5:34 PM EST

Virginia bounced back from a tough loss to Wake Forest with a hard-fought 66-61 victory at Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Reece Beekman led the Cavaliers with a loaded stat line of 19 points on 8/11 shooting with three three-pointers, eight assists, three rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. Now, UVA will look to win back-to-back ACC road games for the second time this season and improve to 6-3 in ACC play, including a potential 4-1 record in road ACC contests. This is also a very important game for Virginia's waning postseason hopes, as it comes against a team near the bottom of the ACC standings. The Cavaliers are well aware that no ACC game will be easily won, however, and Dereon Seabron and the Wolfpack will surely give the Wahoos all they can handle on Saturday in Raleigh.

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (11-7, 5-3) vs. NC State Wolfpack (9-10, 2-6)

When: Saturday, January 22nd at 4pm

Where: PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina

How to watch: ACC Network

All-time series: NC State leads 83-68

Last meeting: NC State defeated Virginia 68-61 in Charlottesville on February 24th, 2021.

By the Numbers

Virginia Cavaliers vs. NC State Wolfpack
Virginia	By the Numbers	NC State
62.4	Points Per Game	75.2
58.8	Opponent PPG	74.3
45.1%	Field Goal %	42.2%
41.1%	Opponent FG %	46.0%
31.9%	Three-Point FG %	32.3%
34.3%	Opponent 3PT FG %	33.9%
-24	Rebounding Margin	-15
+27	Turnover Margin	+60
92nd	NET Ranking	121st
95th	RPI	169th

Opponent Breakdown: NC State

Notable results: Oklahoma State (74-68 L), Nebraska (104-100 4OT W), Louisville (73-68 L), Purdue (82-72 L), Miami (91-83 L), Florida State (83-81 L), Virginia Tech (68-63 W), Louisville (79-63 W), Virginia Tech (62-59 L)

NC State has shown promise at times this season, including in impressive road victories at Virginia Tech and Louisville and the Wolfpack also took then-No. 1 Purdue to overtime on December 12th. For the most part, however, it has been a rocky season for Kevin Keatts' team, who is off to a disappointing 2-6 start to ACC play.

NC State is sixth in the ACC in scoring at 75.2 points per game and the Wolfpack are led by one of the best players in the conference in redshirt sophomore Dereon Seabron, who is third in the ACC in scoring (19.3 ppg), second in the ACC in rebounding (9.5 rpg), and fifth in the ACC in field goal percentage (53.1%). Terquavion Smith (14.6 ppg) and Jericole Hellems (40.2% 3pt, 14.2 ppg) join Seabron as NC State's double-digit scorers.

The main issue for the Wolfpack has been their defense. NC State ranks second to last in the conference in scoring defense at 74.3 points per game allowed and are last in the ACC in terms of opponent field goal percentage at 46.0%. The Wolfpack are giving up an average of nearly 78 points per game in their six losses this season.

What to Watch For

Containing Dereon Seabron

Virginia's defense has had mixed results attempting to handle some of the ACC's most talented scorers this season. Reece Beekman and Armaan Franklin did an admirable job for most of the game guarding the ACC's leading scorer in Alondes Williams last Saturday, but Williams made critical plays down the stretch to lead Wake Forest to the win in Charlottesville. At other times this season, big men like Armando Bacot, John Hugley, and Keve Aluma have had success working in the paint against Virginia's bigs. Dereon Seabron poses yet another difficult challenge for the UVA defense. It will be interesting to see how Virginia chooses to guard the 6'7" redshirt sophomore, who has scored 20+ points eight times this season.

Another familiar face

For the third time this season, Virginia will face a player who played for UVA in the 2020-2021 season. Casey Morsell transferred to NC State after two seasons at Virginia and has appeared in 17 of NC State's 19 games this season, including seven starts, and plays a little over 21 minutes per game. Morsell is currently shooting 34.9% from the floor and 37.3% from three and is averaging 7.3 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game. Virginia is 1-1 against teams with a UVA transfer this season. The Cavaliers defeated Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Georgia 65-55 back in November, but lost to Justin McKoy and UNC on January 8th.

Reece Beekman's continued growth

Virginia has been desperate for a third consistent scorer all season to join Jayden Gardner and Armaan Franklin. Reece Beekman is already a highly valuable player for Tony Bennett for his defensive play, but he has also scored in double-figures in three of the last four games, including a 19-point, eight-assist performance at Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Beekman, who rarely shoots three-pointers, also made three of five three-point attempts against the Panthers. Beekman's growth as a contributor on the offensive end could be a crucial development for Virginia as we enter the final 12 games of the regular season.