Virginia Basketball vs. North Carolina Game Preview

Virginia and North Carolina meet for the second time in 12 days and the third time this season in the quarterfinals of the 2023 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday night at Greensboro Coliseum. Both teams protected home court in the two regular season meetings and the rubber match comes with a lot on the line for both the Cavaliers and the Tar Heels. Of course, both UVA and UNC are hoping to make a run at cutting the nets down on Saturday night, but the NCAA Tournament stakes are running high too with Virginia looking to cling to a No. 4 seed and North Carolina needing a win to stay alive for a bid to the NCAA Tournament, as the Heels find themselves squarely on the outside of the bubble with just a few days left until Selection Sunday.

Read on for a full preview of the ACC Tournament quarterfinal between No. 2 seed Virginia and No. 7 seed North Carolina, including details on the game, an opponent scouting report, game notes, and what's at stake.

Update: Virginia graduate forward Ben Vander Plas suffered a right hand fracture in practice on Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the season. Read more here.

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (23-6) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (20-12)

When: Thursday, March 9th at 7pm ET

Where: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina

How to watch: ESPN

How to stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

How to listen: SiriusXM 80, SXM App 80 | Virginia Sports Radio Network - click here for affiliates

All-time series: North Carolina leads 134-61

Last meeting: North Carolina defeated Virginia 71-63 on February 25th in Chapel Hill.

Opponent Scouting Report: North Carolina

2022-2023: 20-12

North Carolina is one loss away from becoming the first preseason No. 1 team to ever miss the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels are in full-on desperation mode now and must win this game against Virginia in order to keep their March Madness hopes alive. After an up-and-down regular season in 2021-2022, UNC caught fire at just the right time and rode that wave all the way to the national title game. The Heels are hoping that they can do that again and their opening game against Boston College on Wednesday night was certainly a good start in that direction. UNC shot 54.8% from the floor, 41.7% from three, and knocked down 10 triples, including four from RJ Davis and three from Caleb Love. North Carolina only turned the ball over seven times, led by as many as 27 points, and rolled to an 85-61 victory.

These two teams are extremely familiar with each other at this point, as UVA and UNC faced each other twice last year, brought back similar roster personnel this season, and are now facing each other for the third time this season. Armando Bacot continues to lead the way for North Carolina, averaging a double-double with 16.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. The First-Team All-ACC center went down with another ankle injury against Boston College, but still had ten points, six rebounds, and three assists despite playing just 18 minutes. Bacot came back and played five minutes in the second half, so his status will be an essential factor in the game against UVA.

6'4" guard Caleb Love has been hot and cold all season long, fulfilling the definition of a streaky offensive player. He played well against Boston College on Wednesday night, putting up 22 points on 9/20 shooting with three three-pointers. Love occasionally suffers from poor ball security and shot selection, but he can get red-hot at any moment and tends to do so on the biggest stage - see the 2022 Final Four vs. Duke.

RJ Davis tends to play well against Virginia, taking advantage of his size advantage in the matchup with Kihei Clark. Davis had 18 points and shot 4/6 from beyond the arc against Boston College. He is averaging 15.8 points and 3.3 assists per game and is the team's most reliable shooter at 34.4% from three.

After not playing in the first meeting with Virginia, Pete Nance went off in the rematch in Chapel Hill, knocking down four threes in the first half and scoring a game-high 22 points. Nance didn't attempt a three against Boston College on Wednesday, but still had 10 points and four blocks.

Rounding out the starting five is Leaky Black, an elite defender capable of guarding virtually every position on the floor. Black finished second to Reece Beekman in the voting for ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

6'8" forward Puff Johnson headlines the bench unit, which also features 6'3" guard Seth Trimble, 6'5" guard D'Marco Dunn, and 6'10" forward Jalen Washington, a freshman who had a career-night at Virginia back in January and who might have a significant role to play in this meeting if Armando Bacot has trouble with his ankle.

Bacot and Nance missing the first meeting with Virginia was a huge storyline as UVA went on to win 65-58. In the second meeting, the Cavaliers did a good job at limiting UNC's second-chance points and fast-break opportunities, but the Tar Heels made up for that by shooting way above their average from beyond the arc. North Carolina made nine threes in the first half, building a lead as large as 17. The Cavaliers played a solid second half, but spent the entire half trying to dig themselves out of the hole and couldn't quite complete the comeback.

Virginia has played better since then, delivering solid performances in a pair of wins over Clemson and Louisville to end the regular season, while UNC went on to lose a must-win game at home against Duke in the regular season finale. The Tar Heels bounced back in a big way in their blowout win over the Eagles on Wednesday, though, perhaps showing that they're ready for some more postseason magic.

The keys to the game for UVA remain the same: limit UNC's second-chance points and transition opportunities, keep Armando Bacot out of the paint and off the glass, and make sure the North Carolina shooters don't heat up from beyond the arc.

Game Notes

North Carolina holds a 134-61 advantage over Virginia in the all-time series dating back to 1910-1911.
Virginia is 4-14 against North Carolina at the ACC Tournament and UNC has won each of the six meetings with UVA in Greensboro.
Tony Bennett is 13-11 all-time against North Carolina as a head coach.
Virginia and North Carolina split the two regular season meetings, with UVA winning 65-58 in Charlottesville and UNC winning 71-63 in Chapel Hill.
Virginia is the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament for the fifth time in program history and for the second time in the Tony Bennett era.
UVA holds a 44-64 all-time record at the ACC Tournament, including an 18-24 record in Greensboro.
Virginia is 26-37 in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament.
UVA is 13-9 in the ACC Tournament under Tony Bennett.
Virginia has advanced to the semifinal round in six of the last eight ACC Tournaments
Virginia is seeking its fourth ACC Tournament Championship. UVA won ACC Tournament titles in 1976, 2014, and 2018.

What's at Stake

North Carolina

UNC is seeking its 19th ACC Tournament Championship and its first since 2016. More importantly, the Tar Heels have to win this game in order keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Joe Lunardi has North Carolina as the fourth team in his "first four out" in his latest bracketology. In all likelihood, a March Madness bid will require UNC to reach the ACC Championship Game and only winning the ACC title and securing the conference's automatic bid will guarantee that the Tar Heels will go dancing next week.

Virginia

UVA is seeking its fourth ACC Tournament Championship, third of the Tony Bennett era, and first since 2018. Virginia is clinging to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Lunardi has the Cavaliers as the No. 16 overall seed and the last team on the 4 seed line in his latest Bracketology. North Carolina is ranked No. 49 in the NET, so this game will just barely qualify as a Quad 1 game for UVA. A loss isn't catastrophic, but it could knock Virginia off the No. 4 seed line. A win might not move the needle much, but it'll keep the Cavaliers where they are as a No. 4 seed and will build more momentum heading into March Madness.

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