UNC vs. Virginia: Live Score, Highlights and Reaction

No. 3 Virginia 79, No. 7 North Carolina 74 

The No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers forced their way into the conversation for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament with a win at home over the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday night. 

Virginia's victory also added more chaos to the ACC regular-season title race. After Saturday's results in the ACC, North Carolina and the Miami Hurricanes have a one-game lead over Virginia and the Louisville Cardinals with one week remaining in the regular season. 

The Cavaliers appeared to have a comfortable advantage going into the locker room thanks to the play of Malcolm Brogdon, but Joel Berry cut the lead to three with a pair of three-pointers in the final minute of the first period. 

Virginia remained in the driver's seat for the majority of the second half behind the play of Brogdon and Anthony Gill. Gill scored six consecutive points right before the under-eight timeout to hand Virginia an 11-point advantage. 

North Carolina did not give up in the clash of ACC titans as it closed the gap to as small as three in the final minute, but the Tar Heels didn't have enough in the tank to pull off the comeback. 

Brogdon led all scorers with 26 points, while Gill added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers. London Perrantes and Devon Hall also scored more than 10 points for Virginia. 

Berry led North Carolina with 21 points, while Marcus Paige contributed 13 points in defeat. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.