Monday night presents us with two of the best teams in college basketball, as the Virginia Cavaliers will travel to Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Virginia looks to recover from their second loss to Duke this season, while North Carolina seeks out their 8th straight win.
The Tar Heels are 19-4 on the season and 11-1 at home this year. Currently ranked No. 8 in the AP poll rankings, Roy Williams and his team are a threat year after year.
This will be their first-time facing Virginia this season, as they prepare for a tough road down the stretch that includes two games against Duke. They were able to defeat the Miami Hurricanes in their last game, 88-85. Kenny Williams hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:08 left in overtime, and freshman Coby White scored 33 points to help the Tar Heels pick up a win on Saturday.
Virginia is -1 over North Carolina in this game.
Virginia has been rolling all season long with a 20-2 record. Both losses have come against the Duke Blue Devils, who could end up as the No. 1 seed before the tournament begins. Virginia is currently ranked No. 3 in the rankings and 6-1 on the road this year. In their 81-71 loss against Duke on Saturday night, RJ Barrett scored 26 points, Zion Williamson had 18 and No. 2 Duke used a barrage of 3-pointers to go ahead early and hold off the Cavaliers.
As we take a look at the ACC standings both Duke and North Carolina sit in first place with a 9-1 conference record. Then it’s Virginia in third place, as they could sneak past North Carolina with a win on Monday night. ESPN’s matchup predictor is still giving Virginia a 57.6 percent chance of winning even though they are the road team.
Tony Bennett has a great team led by Kyle Guy (14.6 ppg), De’Andre Hunter (14.5 ppg) and Ty Jerome (13.1 ppg). Guy and Jerome both led the way with 16 points against Duke, as Hunter finished with 11 points. Jerome leads this team in passing with 4.9 apg and junior Braxton Key leads Virginia in rebounding with 6.1 rpg. Virginia is one of the best defensive teams in the country, allowing just 54.1 ppg to opposing teams. Their offense only scores 72.8 ppg, as they rely heavily on their defense to cause turnovers and fuel the offense.
North Carolina is led by Coby White (15.9 ppg), Cameron Johnson (15.8 ppg) and Luke Maye (15.1 ppg). Maye also leads this team in rebounding with 9.7 rpg and is coming off a 20-point, 6 rebound performance against Miami.
White went off for 33 points against the Hurricanes, as he shot 7-10 from beyond the arc. Cameron Johnson contributed 12 points and freshman Nassir Little finished with 10 points.
This North Carolina team has been on a role since their loss to Louisville, as they have won 11 of their last 12. They will really be put to the test against this Virginia team on Monday night, as tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Take the Tar Heels at home as the favourite.
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