North Carolina vs Virginia Basketball Predictions and Preview

Its No. 7 versus No. 3, as the North Carolina Tar Heels and Virginia Cavaliers go mano-a-mano for the first time this season. The Tar Heels, who have won four of their last five contests, will look to take a step closer in notching the ACC title with a win. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, will be striving to bounce back from a tough loss on Monday night. Who will prevail in this one?

Read on below for a detailed breakdown of this must-see showdown. And while you’re at it, you might as well check out our preview of the Indiana Hoosiers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini.

North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Virginia Cavaliers Preview

Where: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville

When: Saturday, February 27, 6:30 PM ET

Line: North Carolina Tar Heels at Virginia Cavaliers– view all NCAA Basketball lines

TV Broadcast: ESPN

Betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels (22-5, 11-3 ACC)

Following their loss to Duke, the Tar Heels quickly pulled things back together by responding with two-consecutive victories. The latest one happened on Wednesday night, during which Brice Johnson scored 22 points and nabbed 11 rebounds to lead them towards the 80-68 victory over NC State.

With that win, the seventh-ranked Tar Heels maintained their hold of the No. 1 spot in the ACC with a 12-3 win-loss record. Now, they’ll look to keep on doing so when they travel to Charlottesville for a critical encounter with the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers. UNC is 5-5 SU and 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games on the road.

Key to their success will depend on their high-powered offense that’s putting up 83.9 points per contest, the sixth-most in the country this season. And as always, expect Johnson to take charge in lighting up the scoreboard.

Johnson, who boasts team-bests of 16.9 points and 10.6 boards, has been feasting on his opponents as of late with monstrous numbers of 21.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in the past four games. He also now has a total of 17 double-doubles under his belt, which is the most right now in their conference. But it’ll be really interesting to see if Johnson can impose his will opposite a breathtaking Virginia defense (59.7 points allowed per game).

If he struggles to find his shot, the Tar Heels will desperately need Marcus Paige and Justin Jackson to find their marks. Both players are contributing at least 12 points per game and Jackson, in particular, has been doing it all lately, tallying 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists in his last five outings.

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Betting on the Virginia Cavaliers (21-6, 10-5 ACC)

Even with 28 points coming from Malcolm Brogdon, the Virginia Cavaliers couldn’t capture the win as they fell to Miami on Monday night. That setback marked their sixth of the season and their fifth one in conference play. The Cavaliers will now hope that a return trip back home can help them rebound versus the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels.

No matter how stellar Brogdon has been playing, the No. 3 Cavaliers can’t primarily rely on their senior guard to pour on the points all the time. They’ll need everyone to pitch in their own contributions and the pair of Anthony Gill and London Perrantes can definitely do just that. Both are putting up double-digits in points this season with 13.6 and 11.2, respectively.

Defense, however, will ultimately decide the fate of the Cavaliers, who are 10-0 SU and 5-5 ATS in their past 10 games at Jones Arena, later. Their defense, which is giving up just 57.6 points at home, is going to be heavily tested by the Tar Heels’ highly-efficient offense that’s led by the likes of Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige. Those two are averaging 29.3 points combined on the season.