CHAPEL HILL – Often-errant shooting North Carolina got hot at precisely the right time Saturday night, and rode it to a 71-63 victory over No. 6 Virginia at the Smith Center to boost its NCAA Tournament chances, and also notch the team’s best win of the season.
The Tar Heels drained nine 3-pointrs in the first half taking a 16-point lead into the intermission, with Pete Nance leading the way with four threes. UNC led by as many as 17 points twice in the half.
The second period wasn’t as much about the Heels scoring as it was about them keeping Virginia from scoring during a crucial stretch in which the Cavaliers missed 12 consecutive shot attempts and 15 of 16.
The win improved UNC’s record to 1-9 in Quad 1 games, and overall to 18-11, including 10-8 in the ACC. The Tar Heels still have work to do, but this was a huge step forward in getting the needed Q1 victory, but also the manner the Heels made this happen, as they were a bit statistically out of sorts, yet checked many of the intangibles boxes to get the victory.
Nance led the way with 22 points and four blocked shots. RJ Davis added 16 points, four assists, and 10 rebounds. Armando Bacot finished with 11 points and six rebounds in just 24 minutes, as he battled foul problems throughout the second half, and Caleb Love totaled 10 points while converting just two shots from the field.
The Wahoos dropped to 21-6 overall and 13-5 in the ACC.
Here are 5 Takeaways from UNC’s win over UVA: