Bacot and No. 10 North Carolina host Virginia

Published Feb. 24, 2024 3:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

North Carolina Tar Heels (20-6, 12-3 ACC) at Virginia Cavaliers (20-7, 11-5 ACC)

Charlottesville, Virginia; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tar Heels -3; over/under is 130

BOTTOM LINE: No. 10 North Carolina plays the Virginia Cavaliers after Armando Bacot scored 25 points in North Carolina's 96-81 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies.

The Cavaliers are 14-1 on their home court. Virginia is the best team in the ACC in team defense, giving up 58.6 points while holding opponents to 39.9% shooting.

The Tar Heels are 12-3 against ACC opponents. North Carolina is ninth in college basketball with 27.5 defensive rebounds per game led by Bacot averaging 7.4.

Virginia's average of 6.4 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.5 fewer made shots on average than the 6.9 per game North Carolina allows. North Carolina averages 24.2 more points per game (82.8) than Virginia allows (58.6).

The Cavaliers and Tar Heels meet Saturday for the first time in ACC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Reece Beekman is averaging 13.9 points, 5.8 assists and 2.2 steals for the Cavaliers. Isaac McKneely is averaging 14.0 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 44.6% over the last 10 games for Virginia.

RJ Davis averages 3.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Tar Heels, scoring 21.3 points while shooting 41.0% from beyond the arc. Bacot is averaging 14.6 points and 9.6 rebounds over the last 10 games for North Carolina.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cavaliers: 8-2, averaging 62.7 points, 32.4 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 5.8 steals and 5.8 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 59.9 points per game.

Tar Heels: 7-3, averaging 81.4 points, 41.0 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 5.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.