Virginia Visits Men's Basketball Saturday Night

GAME 29: VIRGINIA
• Carolina plays host to sixth-ranked Virginia in the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday, February 25, at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
• The Tar Heels are 11-2 at home this season; the Cavaliers are 6-4 on the road.
• Overall, Carolina is 17-11, 9-8 in the ACC, while Virginia is 21-5, 13-4.
• Despite a 63-48 loss at Boston College on Wednesday, the Cavaliers are second in the ACC, just a half-game behind Miami. Carolina enters the weekend tied for seventh with Syracuse and Wake Forest.
• Both UNC and Virginia are coming off games where they shot season-low field goal percentages. The Tar Heels won at Notre Dame, 63-59, where they shot 33.3% from the floor, including 8.7% from three; the Cavaliers shot 32.2% from the floor, including 19% from three against BC.
• Carolina rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit for the win over the Irish. Caleb Love and Armando Bacot combined to score 26 of their 32 points in the second period, Pete Nance had five second-half assists, RJ Davis had two steals that turned the game around early in the second half and hit a clutch bucket with under a minute to play and Leaky Black had six of his 11 rebounds on the offensive boards.
• Carolina dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Irish, 52-33, and converted 23 offensive rebounds into a season-high 23 second-chance points.
• The Tar Heels, No. 1 in the ACC in getting to the free throw line, made 15 of 18 from the stripe (.800), including four for four by Love in the final seconds to seal the win.
• While the Tar Heels controlled the backboards, limited turnovers (only one in the second half) and made free throws, perimeter shooting once again was a major issue. UNC was 0 for 11 from three in the first half and 2 for 23 for the game. UNC's percentage of .087 was the lowest in school history (20 or more attempts) and third lowest in a win. Carolina is shooting 29.9% from three for the season, its lowest percentage ever, and is 14 for 75 from beyond the arc in the last three games (since making 15 for 33 in its February 11 win over Clemson).
• Armando Bacot had his 67th career double-double in the win over the Irish, tying NC State's Tom Burleson for fourth in ACC history.
• Bacot continues to be the only player in the ACC in the top five (and the top 10) in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. He is fourth in scoring, first in rebounding and fifth in field goal accuracy. The Richmond, Va., native also leads the league in offensive rebounds and double-doubles.
• Bacot was one of three Tar Heels in double figures in rebounds against the Irish and matched Black with six offensive boards. Bacot is averaging a single-season UNC record 4.41 offensive rebounds per game and moved ahead of Antawn Jamison for the highest career average by a Tar Heel (Bacot is averaging 3.63; Jamison averaged 3.62).
• Leaky Black will be playing in his 151st career game, tying Nate Britt and Isaiah Hicks for second in UNC history. Deon Thompson holds the record at 152.
• Carolina's 11 losses are against teams with a combined record of 199-79 (.716) through February 24 (Alabama 24-4, Miami 23-5, NC State 22-7, Virginia 21-5, Duke 20-8, Pittsburgh 20-8, Indiana 19-9, Iowa State 17-10, Wake Forest 17-11, Virginia Tech 16-12).
• Every team that has beaten Carolina has a winning record and six have 20 or more wins.
• Carolina went 8-3 against non-ACC opponents this season. The Tar Heels' non-conference schedule is currently the 20th most difficult in the country.

UNC-VIRGINIA ALL-TIME
• Carolina is 67-9 against the Cavaliers in Chapel Hill, including 25-6 at the Smith Center.
• Overall, the Tar Heels are 133-61 against Virginia.
• Hubert Davis is 2-1 as head coach against the Cavaliers.

THIS SEASON IN CHARLOTTESVILLE (1/10/23)
VIRGINIA 65, CAROLINA 58
• Virginia beat Carolina for the eighth straight time in Charlottesville, overcoming a 29-27 UNC halftime lead and a six-point Tar Heel advantage early in the second half.
• After UNC built a 37-31 lead with 15 minutes to play in the second half, the Cavaliers scored 11 straight points and went on a 21-5 run to take a 10-point lead.
• Three-pointers by Caleb Love pulled Carolina within three points twice in the final 2:48, but an Isaac McKneely three and a driving layup by Reece Beekman thwarted the Tar Heel comeback.
• Armando Bacot sprained his left ankle while grabbing an offensive rebound and left the game without returning just 1:18 into the game. He did not score and had two rebounds in 78 seconds.
• Carolina also played without Pete Nance (strained back) for the second straight game.
• Freshman Jalen Washington played 27 minutes and scored a season-high 13 points and had six rebounds. He scored 12 of UNC's 29 first-half points.
• Carolina had more turnovers (13) than assists (9) for the first time in eight games.
• RJ Davis led three Tar Heels in double figures with 16 points but had one assist and four turnovers.
• The Tar Heels had eight assists on 12 field goals in the first half but only one on nine field goals in the second.
• Carolina held Virginia to 37.5% shooting from the floor in the first half, but the Cavaliers shot 53.6% in the second half.
• Virginia out-scored the Tar Heels in all five specialty stats, including 19-10 in points off turnovers, 32-20 in paint points and 10-2 on fastbreaks.
• Ben Vander Plas came off the bench for Virginia to score 14 of his team-high 17 points in the second half.
• Reece Beekman had 13 points, five assists and five steals.
• The Cavaliers blocked eight shots.

LAST SEASON IN CHAPEL HILL (1/8/22)
CAROLINA 74, VIRGINIA 58
• Armando Bacot set career highs in points (29), field goals (12), rebounds (22) and offensive rebounds (9).
• Bacot became the first Tar Heel with 20 points and 20 rebounds since Brice Johnson had 39 and 23 at Florida State on 1/4/2016.
• Bacot became the first player to have 20/20 against Virginia since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan had 21 and 23 in 1997.
• The win snapped UNC's seven-game losing streak to Virginia. It was UNC's first win over the Cavaliers since 2/18/2017.
• It was the first time UNC scored 70 points against Virginia in 10 games, since a 79-74 loss in Charlottesville on 2/27/2016.
• Carolina made 11 threes.
• Brady Manek had a career-high five assists and hit five three-pointers.
• Caleb Love hit four threes, had 16 points and five assists.
• Bacot (29), Manek (19) and Love (16) combined to score 64 of Carolina's 74 points.

STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• Carolina leads the ACC in rebounding (40.0), is second in rebound margin (+5.4), fourth in scoring (77.3 ppg) and seventh in scoring margin (+5.2).
• The Tar Heels are seventh in the country in rebounds per game and 29th in rebound margin.
• The Tar Heels are 11th in the ACC in field goal percentage and seventh in FG defense.
• Carolina is 11th in the ACC in three-pointers per game (6.7), 15th in three-point shooting (.299) and sixth in three-point percentage defense (.335).
• Carolina leads the ACC in free throws made (17.0) and attempted (23.0) per game.
• The Tar Heels are 12th in the country in free throws made and 14th in attempts.
• Carolina is the only team with three players in the top 15 in the ACC in scoring. Armando Bacot is fourth (career-high 17.3), Caleb Love is fifth (career-high 17.1) and RJ Davis is 13th (career-high 15.6).
• Bacot is the only player in the ACC in the top five as well as the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
• Bacot is third nationally in double-doubles and offensive rebounds and fifth in rebounds per game.
• Bacot's 23 rebounds vs. James Madison in November equal the third most in a game this season in the NCAA. Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe had 24 vs. Georgia and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis had 24 vs. Northwestern.
• Davis leads the ACC in free throw shooting at 87.6%. That is on pace to be the sixth-highest in UNC single-season history. The last Tar Heel to lead the ACC in free throw shooting was Joel Berry II (.893 in 2017-18).
• Davis is 32nd in the country in FT%.
• Davis made 14 of 14 from the line against NC State, which equals the fourth best in a game this season in the NCAA.
• Leaky Black is second in the ACC in steals in conference play with 1.8 per game (30 in 17 games).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (WINS & LOSSES)
• Carolina is averaging 81.4 points in its 17 wins and 71.1 (10.3 fewer) in the 11 losses.
• The opponents are scoring 77.1 points in their 11 wins and 68.9 in UNC's victories. Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Miami are the three teams to score 80 or more points in regulation in beating Carolina (Alabama had 78 in the four-overtime win in November).
• Carolina is shooting 46.1% from the floor in the wins and 39.7% in its losses.
• The Tar Heels make 7.7 threes at 33.2% in the wins and 5.5 threes at 24.7% in the losses.
• Carolina's best three-point percentage in a loss this season was 33.3% at Virginia (8 for 24).
• UNC is 46 for 187 (24.6%) from three-point range in its eight ACC losses.
• Carolina is 7-0 this season when shooting 35% or higher from three-point range with wins over Portland, The Citadel, Michigan, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Clemson.
• The Tar Heels are 10-11 when shooting under 35% from three.
• Carolina has a rebounding edge of 7.7 per game in the wins and 1.9 per game in the losses. That includes a decisive 52-33 advantage for the Tar Heels at Notre Dame.
• The Tar Heels are a combined plus 57 in assists/turnovers in the wins and minus 24 in the losses.
• The opponents are a combined plus 30 assist/turnovers in UNC's losses and have 15 more turnovers than assists in Carolina's wins.
• UNC averages 13.7 assists in its wins and 9.3 in the losses.
• UNC has outscored the opponents, 261-190, in points off turnovers in the Tar Heels' 17 wins, including 24-10 vs. Charleston, 27-12 vs. Ohio State, 32-8 vs. Wake Forest, 23-8 at Louisville and 20-14 at Syracuse.
• The opponents have outscored the Tar Heels, 150-87, in points off turnovers in the losses. That includes a 15-point advantage by Iowa State, a seven-point edge by Alabama, a 17-4 advantage at Indiana, a 12-6 margin at Pittsburgh, a 19-10 advantage by Virginia and 16-3 by NC State.
• Carolina is 10-2 in games when it has scored more points off turnovers than its opponents.
• The Tar Heels are 5-8 when the opponents score more points off turnovers (and 2-1 when even).
• The opponents have scored at least 40 paint points five times in the UNC losses, including 40 by Alabama, 50 by Indiana, 42 by Virginia Tech, 42 at Pittsburgh and 42 at NC State (the box score says 46 but the first two field goals were listed incorrectly as paint points).
• Carolina is 11-5 when it scores more paint points and 5-6 when the opponents have more.
• Carolina is 7-2 this season when holding the opponents to fewer than 30 paint points (only losses to Iowa State and to Pittsburgh in Chapel Hill).
• Carolina has scored 80 or more points 13 times. The Tar Heels are 11-2 in those games, losing 103-101 in four overtimes vs. Alabama (scored 77 in the regulation) and 92-85 at Wake Forest.
• Bacot is averaging 19.1 points in the wins and 14.1 in the losses. However, Bacot only played 1:18 in the loss at Virginia (and did not play at Virginia Tech). He is averaging 15.7 in the nine losses other than Virginia and Virginia Tech.
• Caleb Love is shooting 41.0% from the floor, including 31% from three, and has 53 assists/38 turnovers in the wins; in the losses, Love is shooting 36.5% from the floor (31.5% from three) and has 24 assists/29 turnovers).
• RJ Davis is averaging 16.4 points, is shooting 47.4% from the floor (40.2% from three) and has 61 assists/30 turnovers in the wins; in the losses, he is averaging 14.5 points, is shooting 35.7% from the floor (21.1% from three) and has 30 assists/23 turnovers.
• Pete Nance is shooting 42.9% from the floor (35.4% from three) in the wins and 39.3% from the floor (18.9% from three) in the losses. Nance is 38 for 44 (.864) from the free throw line in the wins and 18 for 26 in the losses (.692).

MISCELLANEOUS
• Carolina's three-point percentage (.299) is 333rd in the country and the lowest in school history.
• Bacot is 18th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage and averages 5.6 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes. Puff Johnson is second on the team with 2.7 per 40 and Leaky Black is third at 2.3 per 40.
• Love made 7 of 12 field goals vs. Clemson (6 of 9 from three). The Tar Heels are 5-1 this season and 16-3 in his career when Love shoots 50% or higher from the floor.
• The Tar Heels are 10-2 this season and 38-12 in three seasons when Love has more assists than turnovers.
• Bacot leads Carolina in scoring (career-high 17.3 ppg), rebounding (11.1 rpg), offensive rebounding (career-high 4.4), blocks (29) and field goal percentage (.558). Last season, he became the first Tar Heel ever to lead UNC in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots in consecutive seasons, and he is on pace to accomplish that again this season.
• The last player to lead the Tar Heels in scoring and rebounding in three straight seasons was Tyler Hansbrough, who is the only Tar Heel to accomplish that in four consecutive seasons (2006-07-08-09).
• Bacot is one of three Tar Heels with 1,700 career points, 1,000 rebounds and 150 blocks with Sam Perkins and Brice Johnson (block totals are unknown for Billy Cunningham).
• Carolina is 12-3 this season and 33-10 in his career when Bacot attempts more than six free throws in a game. The Tar Heels are 5-7 this season and 44-40 over the last four seasons when he attempts six or fewer.
• Carolina's bench has outscored the opponents seven times this season. The Tar Heels are 4-3 in those games.
• The opponents are averaging 5.5 more bench points per game, including a 23-2 advantage by Notre Dame on Wednesday.
• Freshman Tyler Nickel's 16 points vs. The Citadel were his season high and the most by a Tar Heel non-starter this season. They were the most by a Tar Heel non-starter (in a non-Senior Day game) since Johnson had 16 in the win at NC State last February.

RECORD BOOK UPDATES
• Carolina has an NCAA-record 81 1,000-point scorers, including Caleb Love, Armando Bacot and RJ Davis. Bacot scored his 1,000th point last year in Chapel Hill vs. NC State, Love vs. Portland in November and Davis in January at home vs. Wake Forest.
• With 16 points at Notre Dame Bacot passed three-time first-team All-America Mike O'Koren for 15th in career scoring at UNC with 1,766 points. He needs 23 points to pass Michael Jordan for 14th place.
• Love passed Luke Maye and Kris Lang in the game at Notre Dame for 40th in career scoring.
• Bacot has 10 or more rebounds in a UNC-record 74 games. He passed Billy Cunningham, who had 61 in three seasons from 1962-65.
• Bacot is Carolina's all-time leader in rebounds (1,301), double-doubles (67) and offensive rebounds per game (3.63), is second in offensive rebounds (461) and sixth in rebounds per game (10.2). He is one of eight Tar Heels to average a career double-double (13.9/10.2).
• Sean May and Bacot are the only Tar Heels to average career double-doubles in the last 50 years.
• Bacot has 67 double-doubles in 127 games (double-doubles in 52.8% of his games). Only Cunningham (87.0%) recorded double-doubles in a higher percentage of games by a Tar Heel.
• Bacot set UNC single-season records last year with 511 rebounds, 31 double-doubles, five 20-rebound games (tied), 32 games with 10 or more rebounds, rebounds in an NCAA Tournament and rebounds by a Tar Heel in the Elite 8, national semifinal and championship games.
• Bacot became the first player in NCAA Tournament history with six double-doubles in one year and tied the NCAA single-season record for double-doubles with 31 (Navy's David Robinson also had 31 in 1985-86).
• Bacot grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds in UNC's 80-64 win over previously unbeaten James Madison on November 20.
• Bacot is ninth in UNC history in free throw made and attempted (431 for 655).
• RJ Davis is third all-time at UNC in free throw percentage.
• Love made at least one three-pointer in a UNC-record 45 consecutive games, a streak that began last season and ended at Louisville on January 14. He broke Marcus Paige's previous mark of 41.
• Last season, Love made 40 consecutive free throws, the second-longest streak in school history (one off the record by Jeff Lebo).
• Love has attempted 591 three-pointers, third most by a Tar Heel, and is 10th in made threes with 191.
• Love has made a three in 82 of 96 career games.
• Love is one of four Tar Heels with 1,400 points, 300 assists, 175 three-pointers and 100 steals with Joel Berry II, Jeff Lebo and Marcus Paige.
• Leaky Black has played in 150 games in five seasons. He has played in the fourth-most games by a Tar Heel and should break Deon Thompson's school record for games played (152) vs. Duke on March 4.
• Black is one of three current Tar Heels to start at least 100 career games. Bacot has made 126 starts, Black has 125 and Pete Nance, who played four seasons at Northwestern, has made 100 career starts.

BACOT: SIX-TIME ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Bacot has earned three ACC Player-of-the-Week awards this season.
• Bacot has won ACC Player of the Week six times in his career (all in the last two seasons), which equals Phil Ford for the third most all-time by a Tar Heel.
• Antawn Jamison (ACC-record 12) and Tyler Hansbrough (11) are the only Tar Heels to have won the award more than Bacot.
• Bacot's ACC Player-of-the-Week honors this season were a product of his performances against The Citadel and Ohio State in December, Wake Forest and Notre Dame games in early January and Boston College and NC State games in mid January.

NOVEMBER SIGNEES
• Carolina signed two players to National Letters of Intent in November 2022.
• Zayden High, a 6-10 forward from San Antonio, Texas. High attends AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz., where he plays for Coach Ed Gipson.
• Simeon Wilcher, a 6-5 guard from Plainfield, N.J. Wilcher plays for Coach Dave Boff at Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, N.J.

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Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

RJ Davis

Puff Johnson

Caleb Love

Brady Manek

Pete Nance

Tyler Nickel

Jalen Washington