North Carolina was on the mat, and for a brief moment, on Saturday at No. 14 Virginia, it looked as though the Tar Heels weren’t going to back up. Coming off an underwhelming 3-3 start to ACC play and with a new-look starting lineup for the second-straight game, Hubert Davis’s team fell into a big hole in Charlottesville.
With 2:05 left in the first half, Johann Grunloh hit the second of two free throws to put Virginia ahead by 16, 43-27. A loss would’ve continued a midseason spiral that could have spun right to the end of Davis’s tenure in Chapel Hill. Instead, the Heels found a way to their feet and started throwing haymakers.
Enough of those punches landed as North Carolina pulled off the largest comeback in the history of John Paul Jones Arena, which has served as UVA’s home court since 2006. That 19-year stretch has included 12 NCAA Tournament appearances for the Cavaliers and the 2018-19 national championship under Tony Bennett.
Interesting tidbit from the UNC postgame show:
— Andrew Forrest (@Andrew_Forrest1) January 24, 2026
that was the biggest comeback from an opponent ever in John Paul Jones Arena.
Saturday, UNC recorded largest comeback victory in the history of John Paul Jones Arena
From the 43-27 low point, UNC outscored UVA 53-37, wresting control of the game away from one of the best teams in the ACC. A 7-0 run to end the half brought UNC within nine points at the break, and by the 11:57 mark of the second half, Davis’s team had the lead.
Caleb Wilson led the way with 20 points, but it was another UNC freshman who catalyzed the comeback. Four-star true freshman Derek Dixon found his way into the starting lineup on last weekend’s West Coast trip, replacing Kyan Evans at point guard, and in the second half on Saturday, he took over the game.
Dixon scored just 11 points on 4/11 shooting, but finished with seven assists, six of which came after the intermission. He sped up UNC’s pace with high-level outlet passes and activated Jarin Stevenson, who, like Evans, recently lost his spot in the starting lineup. All 17 of Stevenson’s points came in the second half, knocking down two threes and terrorizing UVA in transition.
While a 16-point comeback is incredibly impressive, especially on the road, it is a bit surprising that it’s the largest blown lead in the history of UVA’s arena. That is almost certainly a credit to Tony Bennett, who coached in John Paul Jones Arena for 15 seasons.
Bennett was a proponent of the pack line defense, which slowed the pace of games to a crawl and made it incredibly difficult for Virginia’s opponents to score in bunches. Virginia’s first-year head coach, Ryan Odom, is still defensively-minded, but isn’t quite Bennett from that perspective. Odom has UVA back near the top of the ACC, but after introducing a slightly more volatile play-style to Charlottesville, this record may not stand for long.