Men's Hoops Cruises By Virginia, 81-66

Saturday, February 22

Chapel Hill

4 PM

North Carolina

17-11,10-6ACC

Virginia

13-14,6-10ACC

Virginia

North Carolina

Drake Powell

Photo by: Peyton Williams

February 22, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—North Carolina raced out to a 21-2 lead in the first nine minutes and won its third game in a row, cruising to an 81-66 win over Virginia on Saturday afternoon in the Smith Center.

Jae'Lyn Withers posted his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds while hitting a season-high four three-pointers in six attempts. He is 10 for 16 from three-point range (62.5 percent) in the last four games and averaging 14.3 points per game in the last three. He has at least one three-pointer in six of his last seven games.

"I would say it's just been not only the leadership that I guess I bring just being a six-year player, but as well as me being more expressive with my emotions and energy," Withers said of his recent tear. "I think that it's contagious at times."

Ian Jackson came off the bench to hit all three of his three-point tries and score 16 points on just seven shots in 17 efficient minutes.

Ven-Allen Lubin had 14 points and gathered six boards, scoring in double figures for his second consecutive game for the first time as a Tar Heel. Drake Powell also played well in both halves and finished with 11 points, his best scoring day in the last six games. He hit 4 of 6 shots and created problems for the Cavaliers with his long-armed defense on the wing.

The Tar Heels have won four of their last five games, improving to 17-11 overall and 10-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia lost its second in a row and fell to 13-14, 6-10.

Carolina never trailed for the third consecutive game after also dominating Syracuse and NC State in its last two outings. The victory gave UNC its 48th season with at least 10 regular season ACC wins.

"They've been feisty, extremely competitive and short-tempered," UNC head coach Hubert Davis said of his team in recent practices. "The competitive fight has been there, and whatever ends up in terms of what it looks like, I feel like we're getting better. I'm just really proud of the guys."

UNC hit 9 of 16 three-pointers as a team (56.3 percent), its best performance from behind the arc this season and second best in the Davis era. It was the Tar Heels' best three-point shooting percentage since a 58.8 percent effort against Georgia Tech on December 6, 2021.

"Carolina has been shooting the ball really well," said Virginia head coach Ron Sanchez. "Jae'Lyn Withers in particular has been having a fantastic stretch. Contesting the three-point line was part of the scouting report."

Virginia missed 8 of its first 9 shots from the floor, making its first bucket 3:03 into the game and not connecting again until almost six minutes later. Carolina built a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game and never looked back despite the Cavaliers eventually pulling within seven points in the final three minutes before halftime. That was as close as they'd get the rest of the way.

UNC improved to 9-1 this season when scoring at least 40 points in the first half, doing so for the third straight outing. Carolina also led by 10 or more at the break for the seventh time in 2024-25 and the fourth time in ACC action.

In the second half, the Tar Heels continued to display a balanced offense and slowly pulled away from UVA. Carolina built its first 20-point lead with 6:10 remaining and limited the Cavs to 41.4 percent shooting as a team in the second half, including 1 of 11 three-pointers (9.1 percent).

Carolina dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Cavaliers by a 35-21 margin, building a 17-2 edge in second-chance points on 11 offensive boards and outscoring UVA in the paint, 36-22.

How It Happened
First Half
• For the second game in a row, the Tar Heels started a lineup of Elliot Cadeau, RJ Davis, Drake Powell, Lubin and Withers.
• The Tar Heels got off to a hot start, leading 15-2 at the first timeout. In the first 5:55 of the game, UVA missed 7 of its first 8 shots while Carolina started 6 for 9.
• UNC went on a 15-0 run as it raced out to a 21-2 lead after 8:28 of action. It was the fifth time this season Carolina had a run of at least 15 points (and the first time since beating Cal on January 15).
• The Cavaliers clawed back to within single digits late in the half, hitting 7 of 9 shots in one stretch.
• UVA held UNC scoreless for nearly four minutes late in the period, but Carolina led, 46-34, at the break.
• Five different Tar Heels scored at least six points in a balanced first-half offensive attack.
• Carolina shot 56.0 percent overall in the opening 20 minutes, including 6 of 8 from three-point range.

Second Half
• UNC shot 2 of its first 3 three-pointers in the second half to improve to 8 for its first 11 from long range.
• The Cavaliers wouldn't go away until Carolina finally built its biggest lead of the day at 77-57 with just over six minutes to play.
• The Tar Heel shooters went cold late in the game. UNC shot 41.9 as a team in the second half to drop to x48.2xxx percent for the game after its hot-shooting first half.

Up Next
Carolina will visit Florida State on Monday at 7 p.m. in Tallahassee, Fla., before returning home to host Miami next Saturday March 1.