No. 25 North Carolina hosts Virginia after Bacot's 23-point showing

Published Mar. 10, 2022 2:22 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Virginia Cavaliers (19-12, 12-8 ACC) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (23-8, 15-5 ACC)

New York; Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EST

LINE: North Carolina -3.5; over/under is 133.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 25 North Carolina hosts the Virginia Cavaliers after Armando Bacot scored 23 points in North Carolina's 94-81 victory against the Duke Blue Devils.

The Tar Heels have gone 15-2 at home. North Carolina leads the ACC in rebounding, averaging 36.9 boards. Bacot leads the Tar Heels with 12.4 rebounds.

The Cavaliers have gone 12-8 against ACC opponents. Virginia has a 5-3 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The teams meet for the second time this season. North Carolina won 74-58 in the last matchup on Jan. 8. Bacot led North Carolina with 29 points, and Reece Beekman led Virginia with 13 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brady Manek is shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc with 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Tar Heels, while averaging 14.4 points and 5.8 rebounds. Bacot is shooting 64.4% and averaging 10.7 points over the last 10 games for North Carolina.

Jayden Gardner is averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Kihei Clark is averaging 1.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Virginia.

LAST 10 GAMES: Tar Heels: 8-2, averaging 88.6 points, 39.1 rebounds, 16.8 assists, 4.8 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.1 points per game.

Cavaliers: 7-3, averaging 61.6 points, 29.1 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 5.0 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 59.0 points.

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