Virginia vs. North Carolina: Full Game Preview

Virginia

(18-6, 3-5 away)

North Carolina

(16-8, 12-2 home)

Venue: Dean E. Smith Center

12:00PM ET / 9:00AM PT, February 16, 2013

Team Leaders

	Points	Rebounds	Assists
Virginia	J Harris 16.3	A Mitchell 9.0	J Evans 5.0
North Carolina	J Michael McAdoo 14.6	J Michael McAdoo 8.2	M Paige 4.3

On Saturday, North Carolina plays host to Virginia at Dean E. Smith Center. Tipoff is at 12 p.m. EST and it can be seen on ACC Network. The Tar Heels fell to the Cavaliers 61-52 on Jan. 6 and are 5-2 against them over the last four years.

North Carolina is in fourth place in the conference and trying to catch third place Virginia.

In their last outing, despite 23 points and 8 rebounds from P.J. Hairston, the Tar Heels fell to Duke 73-68 on Feb. 13. He is putting up 12.8 points per game while also averaging 3.8 rebounds per game. For the Cavaliers, Akil Mitchell put up 17 points and 8 rebounds in the 73-55 blowout of Virginia Tech on Feb. 12. He is averaging 12.7 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 9 per game.

North Carolina appears to have a key statistical advantage in two areas. The Tar Heels will put a stronger offensive effort on the floor with an edge against the Cavaliers in rebounding, 41 per game to 32 per game. In addition, North Carolina has an advantage in scoring, 77 points per game to 64 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have shown an edge in blocked shots, 4 per game to 3 per game. One category in which Virginia is especially proficient is defensive rebounding percentage at 72.0 percent, ranking first in their conference (and 50th nationally).

Virginia StatSmack

North Carolina has more Final Four appearances over the last 10 years than Virginia (three vs. zero).
The North Carolina steals leader (James Michael McAdoo, 33 steals) has more steals than the Virginia steals leader (Akil Mitchell, 31 steals).
Marcus Paige is ranked 3rd in the ACC in assists.
P.J. Hairston is ranked 6th in the ACC in three-pointers.
North Carolina has more NCAA Tournament appearances over the last 10 years than Virginia (eight vs. two).
Reggie Bullock is ranked 4th in the ACC in three-pointers.
North Carolina has been the favorite 27 out of the last 32 times.
That must sting. North Carolina has blown out Virginia by 20 points or more on eight occasions since 1996.
James Michael McAdoo is ranked 7th in the ACC in points, 6th in the ACC in rebounds, and 6th in the ACC in steals.
Diaper Dandies love North Carolina. North Carolina has recruited more McDonald's All-Americans out of high school than Virginia (64 vs. 10).

UVA Players		Mins	Pts	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO
A	Justin Miller	27	13	4	0	2	0	2
B	Joe Harris	31	16	4	2	1	1	2
B	Akil Mitchell	30	13	9	2	1	0	2
C+	Justin Anderson	21	7	3	2	1	1	1
C	Evan Nolte	21	7	3	1	1	1	1
C	Jontel Evans	26	4	2	5	1	0	2
C	Darion Atkins	19	6	4	0	1	1	1
C	Mike Tobey	13	6	3	0	0	1	1
C	Paul Jesperson	26	5	2	1	1	1	1
D+	Teven Jones	17	3	1	2	1	0	1
D+	Caid Kirven	2	0	1	0	0	0	1
D	Taylor Barnette	11	2	1	1	0	0	1
D	Thomas Rogers	2	0	1	0	0	0	0
D	Doug Browman	7	0	1	1	0	0	1

UNC Players		Mins	Pts	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO
B+	Reggie Bullock	30	14	6	3	1	0	1
B	J. McAdoo	30	15	8	1	1	0	3
B	P.J. Hairston	20	13	4	2	1	1	1
C+	Marcus Paige	28	7	3	4	1	0	2
C+	D. Strickland	27	8	3	4	1	0	1
C	Brice Johnson	13	7	4	0	1	1	1
C	Leslie McDonald	18	8	2	2	1	0	1
C-	J.P. Tokoto	11	4	2	1	1	0	1
D+	Joel James	11	3	3	0	0	0	1
D+	Jackson Simmons	8	3	2	0	0	0	0
D+	Desmond Hubert	12	1	2	0	0	1	0
D	James Manor	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
D	Denzel Robinson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
D	Wade Moody	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
D	Frank Tanner	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
D	Luke Davis	5	1	0	2	0	0	0