North Carolina vs Virginia Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview

North Carolina vs Virginia Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview Odds TV

North Carolina vs Virginia How To Watch

Date: Thursday, March 9
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: North Carolina (20-12), Virginia (23-6)
- College Basketball Predictions For Every Game: Thursday

Why North Carolina Will Win

Can we be done with this whole bubble thing now? It’s a 20-win North Carolina team. It might not be perfect, and it might not be 1982, but it’s one of the 68 best teams in college basketball, and …

Sorry. I’m back now.

The Tar Heels can cement their spot NCAA Tournament - aka the college basketball regular season - with a win over Virginia, but their dominant performance against a half-decent Boston College in the first round of the ACC Tournament just might be enough.

It’s North Carolina. The rebounding is still great and there aren’t a ton of big mistakes - that might be enough. It was in the 71-63 win over Virginia a few weeks ago, but ball movement has to be there to keep working it inside. This should be a wee bit of a grind, and …

Why Virginia Will Win

Virginia isn’t going to make the big mistakes needed for North Carolina to come up with easy points.

Yes, the Tar Heels should be in the tournament, but their defense isn’t coming up with anything big when it comes to turnovers, the backcourt isn’t generating the assists needed, and the three point shooting is usually sad.

It wasn’t against Boston College, but the 10-of-24 day from the outside isn’t the norm for the worst three-point shooting team in the ACC.

Virginia isn’t the tear-your-eyes-out slow-and-go team from the recent past, but it can and will control the tempo throughout, the defense should be enough to keep the Tar Heel guards from getting comfortable, and …

North Carolina vs Virginia What's Going To Happen

Yeah, it’s in Greensboro, North Carolina. That’s going to matter.

North Carolina still does need that one more win to lock in a spot. That’s going to matter.

And about that miserable three-point shooting, that hasn’t been North Carolina lately, with ten or more threes in three of the last four games.

Virginia will control most of the game, but one decent-sized North Carolina spurt - and the energy of the crowd when it happens - will turn things around early in the second half. That and the rebounding margin will get the home team through.

North Carolina at Virginia Prediction, Line

North Carolina 68, Virginia 66
Line: Virginia -1, o/u: 129
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Must See Ranking: 4
- College Basketball Predictions For Every Game: Thursday