#3 Virginia (21-6, 10-5 ACC) hosts #7 North Carolina (23-5, 12-3 ACC) in Atlantic Coast Conference action on Saturday (Feb. 27). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena (14,593) is set for 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN. The game is sold out.
For Openers
- Virginia meets North Carolina for the lone time this season.
- As of Feb. 26, UVA is tied for fourth in the ACC at 10-5 and North Carolina is first at 12-3.
- As of Feb. 25, UVA ranks third nationally in scoring defense (59.7 ppg), seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.56), eighth in field goal shooting (49.4%), 11th in 3-point field goal shooting (40.2%), 18th in free throw shooting (75.2%), 29th in turnover margin (2.7) and 30th in scoring margin (11.0).
Broadcast Information
- The Virginia-North Carolina game will be televised on ESPN, streamed online at WatchESPN.com and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Athletics mobile app on iTunes or Android.
- Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.
The Head Coaches
- Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 157-70 in seven seasons at UVA and 226-103 in 10 seasons overall.
- North Carolina: Roy Williams (North Carolina, 1972), 355-106 in 13 seasons at North Carolina and 773-207 in 28 seasons overall.
Virginia vs. Ranked Opponents
- UVA is 4-1 vs. ranked opponents, including back-to-back wins over then-No. 14 West Virginia (70-54) and then-No. 12/13 Villanova (86-75).
- UVA added wins over then-No. 8 Miami (66-58) and then-No. 16 Louisville (63-47).
- Three of UVA’s final four regular-season opponents are ranked (No. 12 Miami, No. 7 North Carolina and No. 11 Louisville).
- UVA last defeated consecutive top-15 teams in non-league play on Dec. 11 and 16, 1982 – vs. No. 3 Georgetown (68-63) and No. 14 Houston (72-63). NBA Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing were the featured opponents in those contests.
- Virginia is 18-22 against ranked opponents, including a 2-6 mark vs. top-5 foes, in the Tony Bennett era.
- UVA is 133-317 vs. ranked opponents, including a 25-119 mark against top-5 foes, since 1953-54.
- The Cavaliers are 1-26 vs. No. 1-ranked opponents (86-73 vs. No. 1 North Carolina on Jan. 30, 1986).
Virginia Ranked No. 3 in Latest Polls
- UVA is ranked a season-high No. 3 in the latest AP and USA Today Coaches polls.
- UVA has been ranked in the top 10 in the AP poll on three different occasions this season (12 weeks overall).
- UVA has been ranked in the top 10 in 34 of the last 38 AP polls.
- UVA was ranked in the top 10 in 25 consecutive AP polls from March 3, 2014 to Nov. 16, 2015, its longest span since 49 straight from 1980-83.
- The Cavaliers’ No. 6 preseason ranking was UVA’s best since a No. 1 ranking to start the 1982-83 season.
All-Time vs. North Carolina
- Virginia is 52-129 all-time vs. North Carolina in the series that dates back to 1910-11.
- Virginia is 32-44, including a 2-4 mark at John Paul Jones Arena, against North Carolina in Charlottesville.
- The Cavaliers have won the last two regular-season meetings between the teams (76-61 at JPJ in 2014 and 75-64 at the Smith Center in 2015).
- UVA meets UNC for the first time since the Tar Heels eliminated the Cavaliers 71-67 in the 2015 ACC Tournament semifinals.
- UVA is 3-2 against UNC in its last five games and 4-6 in its last 10.
- Tony Bennett is 4-5 against North Carolina at UVA and 4-6 career.
- Malcolm Brogdon is Virginia’s current career scoring leader vs. North Carolina, averaging 13.6 points in five games.
- London Perrantes has tallied 11.7 points and 6.0 assists per game in three games against the Tar Heels.
- Anthony Gill has averaged 11 points and 6.3 rebounds in three games against North Carolina.
Last Time vs. The Tar Heels
- Malcolm Brogdon scored 25 points, but it wasn’t enough as then-No. 19 North Carolina beat then-No. 3 Virginia 71-67 in the 2015 ACC Tournament semifinals.
- Marcus Paige hit two free throws with 3.9 seconds left and also hit a huge shot to beat the clock in the final minute to secure the win.
- Justin Jackson scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Tar Heels.
- Brogdon scored 22 of his 25 points after halftime, including a run of eight straight shots that pulled Virginia to within one on his drive with 1:16 left.
- UNC went 7 for 14 from 3-point range, with Jackson hitting 4 for 5.
- UNC survived 18 turnovers that led to 24 points for Virginia.
Last Time Out
- Davon Reed had a career-high 21 points to lead No. 12 Miami to a 64-61 win over No. 3 Virginia on Feb. 22.
- Malcolm Brogdon matched a career high with 28 points, including 17 in the second half.
- Miami went 10-19 from 3-point range, including a 5-6 effort from Reed.
- Anthony Gill added a career-high four blocked shots and had a team-high 10 rebounds.
- UVA out-reboundedMiami 35-30, but shot 43.1 percent in the loss.
On The Horizon
- Virginia plays at Clemson on Tuesday, March 1. Tipoff at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville is set for 7 p.m.
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