UNC Basketball: Staff Picks @ Virginia

The UNC basketball team hits the road for a crucial matchup with the Virginia Cavaliers.

Following a disappointing loss to Pittsburgh, the UNC basketball team bounced back with home victories over Wake Forest and Notre Dame last week.  The Tar Heels will now hit the road again for a critical game as they take on a nationally-ranked Virginia squad.  Can the Heels continue their recent momentum and pick up their first true road victory of the season?  Find out what our staff thinks below! 

Nick Delahanty

This Virginia team is very, very similar to the one the Tar Heels beat not once, but twice last season.

However, this game is at Virginia, a place that has given the UNC basketball program issues in recent history. The Tar Heels haven’t won a game at Virginia since 2012, as they are currently riding a seven-game losing streak in this area.

To add to that, North Carolina has been much better at home than they have on the road this season, and this team still needs to prove they can win some tough true-road games.

With the home-court advantage in their favor, while looking for some redemption, I think Virginia wins this one, but I expect it to be a very close contest.

Prediction: Virginia 65, North Carolina 63

Mark DeMott

The Tar Heels looked much better last week, in large part due to some valuable production from Seth Trimble, Puff Johnson, and the rest of the bench.  They will need some more solid minutes from the bench on Tuesday if they are going to have a shot against a deep and experienced UVA squad.

This game will be a real test to see how far UNC has come since their four-game losing streak, as Virginia can make a team that isn’t moving well on offense look awful.  I think the Heels have made strides in that area and they will have a chance if they can share and take care of the ball.

Virginia can struggle to score at times, and UNC picked up two comfortable wins against a very similar cast of Wahoos last year (although neither of those matchups was in Charlottesville).  One player that could cause some issues for Carolina is Ohio transfer Ben Vander Plas, who was not with UVA when they faced the Heels last season.

I think the Heels will come into this game focused and with an “us against the world” mentality.  However, Charlottesville is a very tough place to win and Virginia’s style of play always presents some challenges for Carolina.  I’m expecting a low-scoring and high-level game that comes down to the wire.  After a couple of…