The Virginia Cavaliers (23-6, 15-5 ACC) face the North Carolina Tar Heels (20-12, 12-9 ACC) Thursday at Greensboro Coliseum in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tourney.
North Carolina outplayed the Boston College Eagles 85-61 at Greensboro Coliseum yesterday in the second round. Caleb Love was the scoring leader with 22 points. RJ Davis added 18 points.
Virginia won their 10th in a row at home on Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena, beating the Louisville Cardinals 75-60 in their regular season finale. Armaan Franklin had 16 points to lead the team.
North Carolina and Virginia split their two matchups this season. The Tar Heels took the most recent meeting, beating the Cavaliers 71-63 at Dean E. Smith Center on February 25.
Pete Nance led the Tar Heels with 22 points and four blocks. Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds in the losing effort. The Tar Heels have been led this season by Love (16.8 ppg), Davis (15.9), and Armando Bacot (15.8).
Bacot also has grabbed 10.3 rebounds per game, 10th-most in the nation, while Davis has dished 3.3 assists per game. Franklin (12.6 ppg), Gardner (11.8), and Kihei Clark (11.1) have powered the Cavaliers’ offense. Gardner also has averaged 5.5 rebounds per game, while Clark has doled out 5.7 assists per game.
The Cavaliers are one of the best scoring defenses in the country, ranking ninth with 60.5 points per game allowed. In the last 10 games, North Carolina is 5-5 with an average margin of +3.3 (72.7-69.4).
For the season, the Tar Heels are averaging 76.7 points per game, compared to 71.0 for opponents. Virginia has gone 7-3 over the last 10, scoring 63.5 points per game on average while holding opponents to 61.2 (+2.3 margin). The Cavaliers are averaging 68.2 ppg for the full season while allowing 60.5.
TAR HEELS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Seth Trimble: 1.6 | 3.3 | -1.7
Points per game:
Pete Nance: 12.2 | 9.1 | +3.1
Armando Bacot: 11.0 | 15.8 | -4.8
CAVALIERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jayden Gardner: 24.0 | 17.9 | +6.1
Kadin Shedrick: 2.4 | 8.9 | -6.5
Rebounds per game:
Jayden Gardner: 8.4 | 5.5 | +2.9
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Virginia (-145)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
