UNC Basketball vs. Virginia: Game preview, info, prediction and more

The UNC Basketball program returns to the court on Saturday in the Dean Dome hoping to end a few different losing streaks vs. Virginia

On Saturday, the North Carolina Tar Heels will not only look to snap their Atlantic Coast Conference skid but their streak against the Virginia Cavaliers as well.

The Tar Heels enter Saturday’s matchup with the Cavaliers in the Dean Dome on a four-game losing streak and a 10-14 record overall as well as a 3-10 conference record. But they are also on a five-game losing streak to Virginia, with their last win in the series coming in February of 2017 as the Tar Heels went on to win the title.

As UNC looks to end this drought, they are going to have to control the tempo in this one.

By now if you have followed ACC basketball, you know just how Virginia likes to play. They don’t rush things and instead want to play at their pace which can be a boring style of play for opposing team’s fans. But Tony Bennett and his Cavaliers don’t care and are going to play their game again on Saturday night. It will be up to UNC to stop them.

The Cavaliers enter the matchup with some struggles of their own. The defending national champions are 16-7 overall and 8-5 in the ACC but they haven’t looked good at times this season, leaving them vulnerable to an upset in Chapel Hill.

They are led by senior forward Mamadi Diakite who is averaging 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds per game this season while shooting 46.7 percent from the field. He’s basically been Virginia’s offense this year and they have really struggled to get any consistent production from their guards, which has been a focal point for them of late.

That’s an area UNC can really take advantage of.

In the first meeting between these two teams, UNC was healthy. They had their starters and fell short in Charlottesville for third loss of the season. In that 56-47 loss UNC really struggled to score, putting up just 18 first-half points. They were led by freshmen Cole Anthony (12 points) and Armando Bacot (11 points) and shot just 37 percent from the field. UNC also struggled to get into their fast-pace style of play as well as hit shots. That cannot happen on Saturday if the Tar Heels want to emerge victorious.

With no Brandon Robinson in this one, UNC is going to have to find that third scorer to compliment Anthony and junior Garrison Brooks. This is another chance for a player like Rechon “Leaky” Black or even Bacot to step up and deliver. The most important thing for UNC will be to get into their sets and push the tempo as much as they can in this one. If they do that, they could find themselves successful and out of last place in the ACC.

Key to the Game

Be better on the offensive end. We talked about the first matchup between these two teams and how UNC really struggled on offense but the same can be said in the Tar Heels previous matchup on Tuesday night at Wake Forest. They looked like a team that simply just didn’t care and there was no offensive flow at all.

The Tar Heels fell behind early on and never really got back into the game, trailing by double digits for the entire second half. I don’t know what happened between that Duke game and Wake Forest game but I hope they are out of their funk.

It sounds cliche but UNC is going to have to find a way to play this game in the 70’s and make their shots to win it.

Player to Watch

I mentioned that someone needs to step up and produce in the absence of Robinson so I’ll go with the sophomore Leaky Black. It’s been an up-and-down season for the wing and he’s coming off a down performance against the Demon Deacons.

Black is going to have to have a big game on both offense and defense in this one for UNC to win it. They simply cannot rely on Anthony and Brooks to do it all on the offensive end.

What you need to know

What? Virginia 16-7 (8-5 in ACC) AT North Carolina 10-14 (3-10 in ACC)
When? Saturday, Feb. 14, 8:00 p.m. EST
Where? Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV? ESPN
Radio? Tar Heel Sports Network
All-time series? UNC leads 103-39
Last meeting? Virginia beat UNC 56-47 back in December of 2019
Line? UNC -2
Prediction? Virginia 60, UNC 53