No. 5 North Carolina at No. 23 Virginia, 7 p.m. ESPN
How do you get out of a slump? Make a bunch of shots, and facing N.C. State's defense helps. The Cavaliers snapped their longest losing streak -- four games -- since the 2009-10 season by downing the Wolfpack, 70-55, on Saturday. Kyle Guy came off the bench for 19 points and made 5 of his 7 3-pointers. He played 35 minutes, his most of the season after playing just two minutes against Miami and taking no shots. Maybe even better news was London Perrantes hit 3 of his 5 3s and recorded 16 points. Perrantes had been struggling mightily during Virginia's skid, so that was great to see, because as much as some other guys might score, UVa needs Perrantes to shoot well if it wants to go far in March. Devon Hall had a very nice game as well, scoring 18 points, a career high, on 5-of-8 shooting and 2 for 2 from deep. N.C. State came into the game with a pretty bad defense, but still, you take what you can get when you're scuffling. Early on, Virginia wasn't shooting well again, but took off midway through the first half behind Guy. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 48.9 percent and made 11 of of their 16 3s. Luckily, UVa didn't need to close the contest out with free throws, because it struggled again at the line, converting just 13 of 22 attempts.
The strength of the opponent goes back up, way up, with North Carolina coming in to John Paul Jones Arena tonight. On Feb. 18, the Tar Heels crushed the Cavaliers, 65-41, in Chapel Hill at the depths of Virginia's shooting woes. The Wahoos shot 27 percent in that game. If they want revenge, they'll obviously have to shoot much better than that. And even that might not be enough, because UNC is playing very good basketball right now, having won four in a row, all by double digits, including a victory over No. 7 Louisville, since losing at Duke. In its past three games, UNC has allowed just 57 points per game and 37 percent shooting.
All I'm hoping for tonight is a good performance, something that can give confidence to the players even in a loss. I know the guys have taken some tough defeats this year, but a solid outing even in a setback would look good as the schedule winds down. UVa closes out its regular season Saturday at home vs. Pittsburgh.
UNC is playing so well right now, and UVa, despite a bounce-back win, doesn't look like it is playing at the Tar Heels' level. I like North Carolina in the game, but I think the fired up Cavaliers will give the Heels a much stronger opposition than down in Chapel Hill. When you've been mired in a slump like Virginia has, that could give a boost to the players, depending on how they use it.
Gut feeling: North Carolina wins by 5-10 points.
How do you get out of a slump? Make a bunch of shots, and facing N.C. State's defense helps. The Cavaliers snapped their longest losing streak -- four games -- since the 2009-10 season by downing the Wolfpack, 70-55, on Saturday. Kyle Guy came off the bench for 19 points and made 5 of his 7 3-pointers. He played 35 minutes, his most of the season after playing just two minutes against Miami and taking no shots. Maybe even better news was London Perrantes hit 3 of his 5 3s and recorded 16 points. Perrantes had been struggling mightily during Virginia's skid, so that was great to see, because as much as some other guys might score, UVa needs Perrantes to shoot well if it wants to go far in March. Devon Hall had a very nice game as well, scoring 18 points, a career high, on 5-of-8 shooting and 2 for 2 from deep. N.C. State came into the game with a pretty bad defense, but still, you take what you can get when you're scuffling. Early on, Virginia wasn't shooting well again, but took off midway through the first half behind Guy. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 48.9 percent and made 11 of of their 16 3s. Luckily, UVa didn't need to close the contest out with free throws, because it struggled again at the line, converting just 13 of 22 attempts.
The strength of the opponent goes back up, way up, with North Carolina coming in to John Paul Jones Arena tonight. On Feb. 18, the Tar Heels crushed the Cavaliers, 65-41, in Chapel Hill at the depths of Virginia's shooting woes. The Wahoos shot 27 percent in that game. If they want revenge, they'll obviously have to shoot much better than that. And even that might not be enough, because UNC is playing very good basketball right now, having won four in a row, all by double digits, including a victory over No. 7 Louisville, since losing at Duke. In its past three games, UNC has allowed just 57 points per game and 37 percent shooting.
All I'm hoping for tonight is a good performance, something that can give confidence to the players even in a loss. I know the guys have taken some tough defeats this year, but a solid outing even in a setback would look good as the schedule winds down. UVa closes out its regular season Saturday at home vs. Pittsburgh.
UNC is playing so well right now, and UVa, despite a bounce-back win, doesn't look like it is playing at the Tar Heels' level. I like North Carolina in the game, but I think the fired up Cavaliers will give the Heels a much stronger opposition than down in Chapel Hill. When you've been mired in a slump like Virginia has, that could give a boost to the players, depending on how they use it.
Gut feeling: North Carolina wins by 5-10 points.
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