UNC vs Virginia Game Thread

North Carolina (20-4, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) will hope to bounce back from its first home loss in two years when it hosts Virginia (19-4, 6-3 ACC) in a battle of ranked teams in the Smith Center.  UNC had won 31 games in a row at home prior to Wednesday night’s loss to Duke.

The Tar Heels enter this weekend’s action with a 7-2 ACC record, tied for first place in the conference with Duke and Florida State. Virginia is a game back at 6-3, tied with NC State for fourth place in the league.

The ACC Network will televise the game, with Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (analyst) calling the action.

As noted on another thread, PJ Hairston is in a walking boot and has ben ruled out for this game.  Look for Justin Watts to pick up some minutes.  UNC is getting VERY thin.  Their bench production took a huge hit when Strickland went down and Bullock stepped into the starting lineup, and now Hairston is out.  I have not heard what Hairston's injury is, other than a sore foot.  Hopefully, there is nothing significant that a few days rest won't fix.  If he is out for an extended period, depth becomes a serious issue.  Let's not forget that Bullock has had a history of knee problems, and he is logging alot of minutes.  Hopefully, his knee holds up as the season goes on.

This game is critical for the Heels.  They need to come out and play a good forty minutes and put the Duke game behind them.  Can't wait to see their response.  I expect a 72-60 victory as Virginia will try to slow the Heels down.


GO HEELS!!        

Great post! I agree with your prediction. I believe this is a horrible matchup for Virginia bc they can only slow the Heels down so much, and Virginia cannot score with us. I actually think we will win by at least 15+ as Virginia will struggle to keep up. I'll say UNC 77- Virginia 61.

Note the game will also stream live on theacc.com and espn3 for those of us that live outside of the ACC TV Network area. 

It's great having the streaming options not being in the viewing area. 

A UNC victory??? Really??? Get real. This is going to be a rout for Virginia, I'm heartbroken I won't be able to watch this pathetic excuse for a team get scorched at home. I can't believe what I'm reading from some of you homers about how great they'll be in the tourney and they will win the ACC this year. OMG. All this supposed talent and they can't put away Dook, a much less talented team only to light it up from 3 land b/c they had no chance getting inside. Again, they can't defend the 3, they're soft, Henson is a galloping goof, Zeller sometimes shows up, Barnes is all hype, MCadoo is a bust, Hairston is a no-show, the bench is a joke, Roy doesn't get it, on and on and on. Dook is playing better w/less talent, Kentucky, 'Cuse, Kansas would DESTROY this sad, no heart, turnover prone, no d excuse for a ball team. I'll shut up when they put away a QUALITY top 10 opponent.

THIS TEAM BLOWS!!! 

Naaaaaah...u blow!!!! U are up there with wack ass shoktart and jigga....get your panties in a bunch after a loss. Go someone else and shed ur wack ass tears. Fairweather fans are the worst. A route for VA???? weirdo

I look for Z and Henson to have steller games against VA. it seems they took the loss against dook the hardest. Marshall will get his 12-15 assist again. Barnes is unpredictable he could go for 30 or 8 pts just depends on which Barnes shows up, anyway I'm thinking a 20 pt win by the Heels today. 78-58 

carolina has to win this game today afgter that duke debacle.  i think they will be too much at home for a virginia team who doesnt has a hard time scoring. with hairston out it is imperative we stay out of foul trouble. unc 82-64

Man its been a tough week but a win today could start making things feel a lot better. I'm still not over that Duke lose because of the way we lost it but it is what it is. I hope our guys come out and really respond today and really take it to Virginia like you guys think but I think it will be a pretty close game. I think Zeller will have another monster game and maybe today we will keep going to him for the whole game and not just the first half. If we are hitting our threes I think we could blow Virginia out but I'm guessing we will be cold and they will some how shoot lights out so it will be close.

I got us winning by 8 today in a lower scoring game then what we normally put up at home. I really wish we could just fast forward to the next Duke game so we can beat the crap out of them like we should have Wednesday but our guys better be focused on Virginia unlike me. We can still win the ACC even though we have really made it hard on ourselves and the National Championship for that matter. We have the talent we just need to get healthy and have some good luck go our way for a change instead of everything going against us this year. I think the biggest problem this year has been the expectations for this season being so high. If it wasn't for that I don't think you would see near as many I give up we suck post. Go Heels !!!!!!!!

This needs to be a statement game by UNC.  They have not beat a ranked opponent since Wisconsin on Nov 30.  They have lost to UK, FSU and Duke, so they really need to take it to Virginia today.


We'll find out soon.  Tip in a few minutes.


GO HEELS!!    

Virginia has done a good job keeping the pace in their favor.  UNC can play better; it hasn't been sharp, but I expected that after the draining loss to that other team.  Barnes needs to up his play in the second half.


How ironic that the officials spot a walk on the Barnes 3 to end the half.  I guess the rules do apply for some teams.

Again, they can't defend the 3, they're soft, Henson is a galloping goof, Zeller sometimes shows up, Barnes is all hype, MCadoo is a bust, Hairston is a no-show, the bench is a joke

As bad as this hurts me to say realbluefan is correct in some of his statements.

#1  UNC is not good at defending the 3.   This is correct.
#2 Henson, while not a galloping goof  ____ the only thing he does well is BLOCK SHOTS. Can't shoot a lick at the free throw line, doesn't run hard down the court on defense.  How on earth this guy thinks he is a #1 draft choice is beyond me.  Tell me why a guy who has a pretty good outside jumpshot CAN"T shoot free throws? 

# 3 Zeller, sure the guy has 14 points at halftime but with his size Z ought to playing much better than this. Case in point, at 7 foot plus just HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SEEN HIM DUNK THE BASKETBALL?  Hardly ever, thats how many.

#4 Barnes is all hybe. I wouldn't go that far but he is a HOT and cold type player. Case in point, the game with DUKE. 1st half  non existent 2nd half  ___  played great.

# 5 Mcadoo hasn't played up to his PRE SEASON MVP Micky D's ALL STAR GAME.

Hairston is a NO SHOW.  Well, today thats CORRECT. LOL______

#7 The bench is a joke. WHAT BENCH?

It breaks my heart that the PRESEASON #1 team looks this bad. No excuse for this.

How many times did UNC look soft while giving up EASY LAYUPS in the 1st half?
How many 3 pointers did UNC score?
How many points out of our guards?
How far do you think the HEELS can go playing like this?

The truth hurts sometimes.

It looks like we are beginning to see the emergence of McAdoo over the last 2 games, His confidence is clearly growing, would like to see him take a few shots from beyond the 3 line, White is giving Marshall some great relief minutes

Z is proving once again that He is the best post player in the league

smh...lose to va......guess we wont be seeing these cry babies again unless we lose another game........good game unc....need to work hard on ur three point shooting...we are awful at that

This is a good UNC team.  They might win it all, or they might not.

All the bandwagoners have come out of the woodwork lately.  It's so easy and SAFE to pick against a team.

The University of North Carolina is "my" team, win or lose.  Maybe all the haters need to switch over to Duke, Florida State, or Virginia.  Why post every negative in the world about UNC and then claim to be a fan?

good win today as expected. total domination in the 2nd half. even though it was a low scoring close game in the 1st half they came out in the 2nd and took care of business. i said it after the florida state game we will only lose 1 more game and that was the duke game. nc will win the rest of their games with the last game being a revenge win in duke. 

Yes, UNC dominated Virginia.  Virginia is a pretty tough opponent, but no one will notice.  Certainly not the bandwagoners.

Good call on the game today realbluefan1, shows how much you really know. Im sure all these fairweathered fans will say that we didnt win by enough or whatever, either way we won and the Duke game is in the past, get over it. Nice win today Heels!

Good win, not necessarily pretty, but given Virginia's style of play, I'll take it.  Virginia was only letting up 51 points a game and UNC hung 70 on them and won by 18.  I think they started out a little tight, and looked tired at times, but overall a good win.

Some good minutes form the bench today from McAdoo , White and Watts.  Not alot of production, but solid play.

Zeller has clearly shown that he is the MVP of this team. 

GO HEELS!!

Realblue, nice prediction on the Virginia blowout.       

#1  UNC is not good at defending the 3.   This is correct.

really ? we are one of the top 3pt defenders in the conference, when teams jack up 20 or more a game some will go in.
         
#2 Henson, while not a galloping goof  ____ the only thing he does well is BLOCK SHOTS. Can't shoot a lick at the free throw line, doesn't run hard down the court on defense.  How on earth this guy thinks he is a #1 draft choice is beyond me.  Tell me why a guy who has a pretty good outside jumpshot CAN"T shoot free throws? 

huh, Ive never heard him say he was gonna be the #1 pick, as far as not hitting free throws look at A.Rivers he can shoot the 3 but is bad at the line.   

# 3 Zeller, sure the guy has 14 points at halftime but with his size Z ought to playing much better than this. Case in point, at 7 foot plus just HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SEEN HIM DUNK THE BASKETBALL?  Hardly ever, thats how many.

any 7 footer can dunk,it takes skill for a 7 footer to use a hook shot 

#4 Barnes is all hybe. I wouldn't go that far but he is a HOT and cold type player. Case in point, the game with DUKE. 1st half  non existent 2nd half  ___  played great.
 
25 points against dook is all hype huh. 

# 5 Mcadoo hasn't played up to his PRE SEASON MVP Micky D's ALL STAR GAME.
 some freshmen take time, especially when you have to play mop up with Zeller and Henson getting the most p.t.
 

#7 The bench is a joke. WHAT BENCH?
you mean the one with the injured players ?

It breaks my heart that the PRESEASON #1 team looks this bad. No excuse for this.
21-4 yeah they're just awful