North Carolina vs. Virginia: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Spread Info and More

Two of the ACC's best will square off on Saturday when the North Carolina Tar Heels (24-4, 11-2) take on the Virginia Cavaliers (21-6, 8-5). 

North Carolina is currently tied with Duke atop the ACC standings, though the Blue Devils possess the tiebreaker. The Cavaliers are alone in fourth place, three games behind UNC and Duke, two games back of Florida State. 

North Carolina and Virginia met earlier in February in North Carolina. The Tar Heels won that game, 70-52. That contest started the four-game winning streak that UNC is presently on.

Where: John Paul Jones Arena. Charlottesville, Virginia.

When: Saturday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m. EST

Watch: ESPN. Streamed on ESPN3. 

Listen  

WCHL-AM 1360 in Chapel Hill. Full list of affiliates at Tarheelblue.com.

3WV 97.5 FM/WINA 1070 AM in Charlottesville. Full list of affiliates at Virginiasports.com.

Betting Line

North Carolina (-3), according to Betonline.

Go for the cover here. Virginia just doesn't have enough firepower in this one. Three is a great number for the Tar Heels in this one.

Key Injuries

Per USA Today:

North Carolina G Dexter Strickland is out for the season.

North Carolina G Leslie McDonald is out indefinitely.

Virginia C Assane Sene is out.

What's At Stake?

In his latest Bracketology, ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected North Carolina as a No. 2 seed and Virginia as an eight, so both teams will be in the tournament.

If North Carolina is going to be a one seed, it really has to run the table and win the ACC Tournament. As far as the ACC regular season title is concerned, Duke and North Carolina are tied right now. The Blue Devils do have the tiebreaker, but the two squads play again.

Losing to the Tar Heels might drop Virginia down a few spots in the tournament, but the Cavaliers are firmly in. If they pull an upset and beat either UNC or Florida State in their next game, their seed will be much higher.  

What They're Saying

Caulton Tudor of the News Observer spoke on the significance of North Carolina beating Virginia, as a loss to anyone other than Duke could put them in a more uncomfortable spot in the Big Dance. 

"

Assuming neither the Blue Devils or the Tar Heels hit a wall in their remaining regular-season games, both seem likely to open the NCAA tournament in Greensboro on March 16 regardless of their regional seedings.

Opening the tournament in Greensboro is important for two reasons, one being the obvious proximity to both campuses and fan bases. But it's a bonus that the Greensboro games will be played on Friday and Sunday, meaning there will be ample recovery time should the arch rivals have to play for a third time this season in the ACC tournament.

"

Steve Yanda of the Washington Post wrote about Tuesday night's big win against Virginia Tech and what it meant to the program.

"

Virginia’s players knew they could not afford to drop a decision against one of the worst teams in the ACC (record-wise, at least). They could not give NCAA tournament selection committee officials another reason to dismiss their credentials. Tuesday night’s game was a rivalry, sure, but the contest represented much more than that to the Cavaliers.

"

While the tournament shouldn't be an issue, this would tell you that the players believe that they need to at least stay close at home against Virginia. 

Most Important Player to Watch

Virginia G Joe Harris. He is the Cavaliers second leading scorer, and as we saw against Duke, North Carolina can struggle against guards. If Harris gets hot, this one will be closer than the Tar Heels like. 

Key Matchup 

Mike Scott vs. Harrison Barnes. 

The two leading scorers will be seeing a lot of each other, and Scott will need to get the best of this matchup. 

If Barnes at least neutralizes Scott in terms of points and it comes down to a battle of the rest of the teams starting from scratch, UNC will win easily. 

Prediction: North Carolina 77, Virginia 64

The Tar Heels just have too much firepower. Virginia is a good team, but North Carolina will ultimately be too strong. 

Follow @mdixon1985