North Carolina Tar Heels vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 2/24/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Saturday, February 24, 2024

Location: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA

TV: ESPN+

The Virginia Cavaliers (20-7) will compete against the North Carolina Tar Heels (20-6) at John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels faced off with Virginia Tech and notched a win by a score of 96-81 in their last contest. North Carolina finished the game having earned a 51.5% field goal percentage (35 of 68) and buried 7 of their 21 shots from downtown. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Tar Heels made 19 of 23 shots for a percentage of 82.6%. When talking about pulling down boards, they collected 40 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 18 assists in the matchup while forcing 6 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In reference to defense, North Carolina allowed 41.8% from the floor on 28 out of 67 shooting. Virginia Tech doled out 13 dimes and had 5 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Virginia Tech totaled 29 rebounds (7 offensive, 22 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Virginia Tech finished shooting 90.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 18 of 20 tries. They made 7 out of their 26 attempts from downtown. When talking about fouls, the Tar Heels ended up finishing with 18 and Virginia Tech had 19 fouls.

Armando Bacot is one player who was a contributor in this game. He went 68.8% from the floor and earned 1 assist. He was on the court for 30 mins played and also totaled 12 boards. He left the arena with 25 points on 11 of 16 shooting.

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North Carolina will enter this game with a record of 20-6 so far this season. They have an average of 82.8 points per game (21st in D-1) while hitting 45.2% from the floor. The Tar Heels are hitting 35.6% on three-point shots (208 of 584) and 75.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, North Carolina is pulling down 41.1 rebounds per game and is sitting with 380 dimes on the season, which is 111th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 10.5 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.0 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Tar Heels are forcing 11.1 turnovers every game and they draw 19.0 personal fouls. They are ranked 17th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 271 conceded this season. The Tar Heels defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 41.1% (667 of 1,622) and they concede 34.0 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are conceding 30.3% on 3-point shots while they are 172nd in Division 1 in points per game allowed (71.4).

The last time they took the court, the Virginia Cavaliers took a defeat with a final score of 75-41 against Virginia Tech. When discussing cleaning the glass, Virginia allowed Virginia Tech to collect 30 in total (4 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 34.8% from distance by shooting 8 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 13 of 17 at the free throw line (76.5%). The Cavaliers allowed Virginia Tech to make 27 of 53 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 50.9% in this matchup. When the game finished, the Cavaliers shot 17 for 52 from the field which gave them a rate of 32.7%. In terms of shots from beyond the arc, Virginia buried 2 out of their 12 attempts (16.7%). They were able to bury 5 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 71.4%. Virginia Tech was called for 6 fouls in the game which got the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 7 tries. They gave up possession 10 times, while getting 4 steals in the matchup. The Cavaliers were able to pull down 21 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 27 in this game.

Isaac McKneely was important for the Cavaliers in this matchup. He buried 4 out of 8 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and accounted for 2 rebounds. He recorded 11 points in his 29 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this contest.

Virginia has a mark of 20-7 for the campaign. When it comes to offense, the Cavaliers are connecting on 44.5% from the field, which is ranked 191st in the nation. Virginia has accounted for 1,731 points for the season (64.1 per game) and they collect 32.3 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 15.5 times per game (50th in college basketball) and they turn it over 8.4 times per game. The Cavaliers are responsible for committing 13.8 fouls per game and they connect on 64.2% from the free throw line.

The Cavaliers on the defensive end are ranked 3rd in college basketball in points given up per game with 58.6. They are able to force 12.7 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 39.8% from the floor (15th in college basketball). The Virginia defense surrenders 31.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (179 of 571) and their opposition makes 73.5% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 10.9 dimes and 33.8 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 35th and 130th in college basketball.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Virginia

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