Virginia at North Carolina, Noon ACC Network
The Cavaliers face the Tar Heels on Saturday in what amounts to a significant game for both teams. UVa is on the rise while UNC is struggling. Virginia is 18-6, 8-3 in the ACC and North Carolina is 16-8, 6-5 in the ACC. The Cavs have won seven of eight games and the Tar Heels have lost two in a row and three of six. Most recently, the Tar Heels lost in their emotional rivalry matchup at Duke on Wednesday and UVa blew out Virginia Tech at home on Tuesday. A win would give UVa a sweep of the Heels and put it three games up on them in the ACC standings with six games left.
In the first meeting of the season between these two teams, the Cavs opened up ACC play at home with a 61-52 win over the Tar Heels. UNC led, 25-24, at the half, but a strong second period from Virginia sent it to its fifth straight win in ACC openers. Joe Harris had 19 points to lead the 'Hoos and Evan Nolte hit three 3s to contribute nine points. Teven Jones had two 3s, Jontel Evans contributed eight points, and Akil Mitchell and Paul Jesperson put up seven each in a well-rounded attack on offense from the 'Hoos. For UNC, Reggie Bullock single-handedly kept it in the game with an amazing shooting performance, making 4 of 6 3-pointers and finishing with 22 points. James Michael McAdoo was the only other Heel to finish in double figures with 10 points.
There has been debate about whether this game is more important to the 'Hoos or the Heels and I have to say UVa. UNC is at home and has less wins in the ACC, but because of a good out-of-conference schedule, its RPI (36 as of 2 p.m. Friday) is better than UVa's (71). As far as numbers important to the NCAA tournament selection committee, this win would be huge for the 'Hoos, while UNC has several more winnable games coming up before a season-ending rematch with Duke in Chapel Hill. And though Virginia is playing well at home, it still hasn't quite proven itself on the road, something the committee focuses on, so a victory at the home of a team ranked higher in the RPI would be big (UVa has two road wins of that sort this year -- Wisconsin and Maryland). For Virginia, the road gets tough if it doesn't win at UNC. If my thinking is correct that the Cavs need 12 ACC victories to get into the tournament, they would need to come up with four wins out of trips to Miami, FSU, BC, and home dates with Duke, Georgia Tech, and Maryland if they don't win this game. Finding three wins in that group would be much easier than finding four. And Virginia can put all the space it wants between it and UNC in the ACC standings, but you have to think that with North Carolina's name recognition, it will get the benefit of the doubt come March and UVa could be left out in the cold.
Which brings me to another point: reffing. I hope to see a cleanly called game at the Dean Dome but would not be shocked to see UVa get robbed of a few calls. The good news is that UNC is much worse at getting to the foul line this year than last year. Nationally, the Heels rank 334th in free throws and last in the ACC. The bad news is that UVa is sending opponents to the line 15.4 times in eight ACC wins, but 24.3 times in conference losses.
Those stats come from the ACC weekend watch, with the link pasted below.
http://www.accsports.com/teams/virginia/2013021514763/acc-weekend-preview-feb-15.php.
So if the refs end up favoring UNC in this one, the 'Hoos could be in trouble. Virginia has guarded these guys before, though, and done it well, and I think we are playing better now than the first win, so hopefully that gives us confidence heading into this contest.
One lineup change of note that the Tar Heels made against the Blue Devils is that UNC coach Roy Williams went with a smaller, four-guard lineup by putting P.J. Hairston in as a starter to help jumpstart the offense. It worked pretty well. Hairston notched a career-high 23 points and the Heels led the Devils, 33-29, at halftime and Duke didn't take the lead until about midway through the second half. Duke ended up winning, 73-68. Hairston scored eight points in the first meeting with the 'Hoos, but has averaged 15.5 ppg over the past six games.
Virginia has had to go with a small lineup recently, too. Darion Atkins is not back to 100 percent and Mike Tobey is out for awhile with mono so the 'Hoos have been very small. Evan Nolte and Justin Anderson, the former around 6-foot-8, and the latter around 6-foot-6, have been playing in the post. Their quickness has actually come in handy with some of the taller, yet slower big men that UVa has faced. I am worried that UNC's retooled starting lineup will give Virginia some trouble and counteract some of the advantages the Cavs found by playing smaller. That will definitely be something to watch today. Will Williams go with the same lineup as the Duke game, or something else?
With that said, I am pretty confident heading into this game. The Heels might be a little weary after an emotional rivalry loss to the Blue Devils on Wednesday. Holding down at least one of Bullock, McAdoo, and Hairston will be key, and hopefully only one gets above the 20-point mark. The Cavaliers know that they can beat North Carolina. They've done it this year, and they've recently beaten a rival on the road (Maryland). But actually going into a hostile environment where everyone will be against them (maybe even the zebras) and facing a team that is trying to find itself and is a bit desperate for a win is a dangerous situation. I hope the guys are able to pull through. The journey to an NCAA tournament bid could be easier with a win in Chapel Hill and a season sweep of the Tar Heels.
The Cavaliers face the Tar Heels on Saturday in what amounts to a significant game for both teams. UVa is on the rise while UNC is struggling. Virginia is 18-6, 8-3 in the ACC and North Carolina is 16-8, 6-5 in the ACC. The Cavs have won seven of eight games and the Tar Heels have lost two in a row and three of six. Most recently, the Tar Heels lost in their emotional rivalry matchup at Duke on Wednesday and UVa blew out Virginia Tech at home on Tuesday. A win would give UVa a sweep of the Heels and put it three games up on them in the ACC standings with six games left.
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| UNC's Reggie Bullock |
There has been debate about whether this game is more important to the 'Hoos or the Heels and I have to say UVa. UNC is at home and has less wins in the ACC, but because of a good out-of-conference schedule, its RPI (36 as of 2 p.m. Friday) is better than UVa's (71). As far as numbers important to the NCAA tournament selection committee, this win would be huge for the 'Hoos, while UNC has several more winnable games coming up before a season-ending rematch with Duke in Chapel Hill. And though Virginia is playing well at home, it still hasn't quite proven itself on the road, something the committee focuses on, so a victory at the home of a team ranked higher in the RPI would be big (UVa has two road wins of that sort this year -- Wisconsin and Maryland). For Virginia, the road gets tough if it doesn't win at UNC. If my thinking is correct that the Cavs need 12 ACC victories to get into the tournament, they would need to come up with four wins out of trips to Miami, FSU, BC, and home dates with Duke, Georgia Tech, and Maryland if they don't win this game. Finding three wins in that group would be much easier than finding four. And Virginia can put all the space it wants between it and UNC in the ACC standings, but you have to think that with North Carolina's name recognition, it will get the benefit of the doubt come March and UVa could be left out in the cold.
Which brings me to another point: reffing. I hope to see a cleanly called game at the Dean Dome but would not be shocked to see UVa get robbed of a few calls. The good news is that UNC is much worse at getting to the foul line this year than last year. Nationally, the Heels rank 334th in free throws and last in the ACC. The bad news is that UVa is sending opponents to the line 15.4 times in eight ACC wins, but 24.3 times in conference losses.
Those stats come from the ACC weekend watch, with the link pasted below.
http://www.accsports.com/teams/virginia/2013021514763/acc-weekend-preview-feb-15.php.
So if the refs end up favoring UNC in this one, the 'Hoos could be in trouble. Virginia has guarded these guys before, though, and done it well, and I think we are playing better now than the first win, so hopefully that gives us confidence heading into this contest.
One lineup change of note that the Tar Heels made against the Blue Devils is that UNC coach Roy Williams went with a smaller, four-guard lineup by putting P.J. Hairston in as a starter to help jumpstart the offense. It worked pretty well. Hairston notched a career-high 23 points and the Heels led the Devils, 33-29, at halftime and Duke didn't take the lead until about midway through the second half. Duke ended up winning, 73-68. Hairston scored eight points in the first meeting with the 'Hoos, but has averaged 15.5 ppg over the past six games.
Virginia has had to go with a small lineup recently, too. Darion Atkins is not back to 100 percent and Mike Tobey is out for awhile with mono so the 'Hoos have been very small. Evan Nolte and Justin Anderson, the former around 6-foot-8, and the latter around 6-foot-6, have been playing in the post. Their quickness has actually come in handy with some of the taller, yet slower big men that UVa has faced. I am worried that UNC's retooled starting lineup will give Virginia some trouble and counteract some of the advantages the Cavs found by playing smaller. That will definitely be something to watch today. Will Williams go with the same lineup as the Duke game, or something else?
With that said, I am pretty confident heading into this game. The Heels might be a little weary after an emotional rivalry loss to the Blue Devils on Wednesday. Holding down at least one of Bullock, McAdoo, and Hairston will be key, and hopefully only one gets above the 20-point mark. The Cavaliers know that they can beat North Carolina. They've done it this year, and they've recently beaten a rival on the road (Maryland). But actually going into a hostile environment where everyone will be against them (maybe even the zebras) and facing a team that is trying to find itself and is a bit desperate for a win is a dangerous situation. I hope the guys are able to pull through. The journey to an NCAA tournament bid could be easier with a win in Chapel Hill and a season sweep of the Tar Heels.
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