“We haven’t prevailed in Virginia since I returned as head coach and assistant. Both they and I seem to be aware of that.
But giving it our all is what drives us. Our drive to keep getting better and the honour of facing off against Virginia, a top programme, on their home court late in the conference season with a tonne on the line, are what drive us.
That’s the exciting part. — UNC coach Hubert Davis on Friday, discussing the ACC regular-season race and the Tar Heels’ eight-game losing streak on the road at Virginia.
We want to play quickly, yet others play so slowly that it’s strange. And something has to give when you have two very distinct play styles.
We need to be patient in order to make the proper plays while maintaining our tempo and minimising turnovers, in my opinion, as we approach this game.
\We should approach them with the mentality that we are only going to hit singles, not home runs, since it is difficult to rally past them once you are behind. Armando Bacot, a big man for UNC, evaluated the contrasts in performance between the Tar Heels and Virginia on Friday.
Scene-Setter for UNC’s Final Road Trip: The Tar Heels go outside of state borders for their final regular-season game against Virginia. On Saturday, the top four teams in the ACC standings will play each other:
Duke will visit Wake Forest in fourth place, while Carolina will visit Virginia in third. The Tar Heels hold the tiebreaker in the league standings between UNC and Duke (12-3), having defeated the Blue Devils 93-84 three weeks prior.
UNC has not triumphed at John Paul Jones Arena since February 25, 2012, and has lost eight of its previous road games versus UVa. This season, the Cavaliers are 14-1 at home, while Carolina is 6-2 on the road.
UNC, which is coming off an open date on its ACC schedule, will play on Saturday after upsetting Virginia Tech 96-81 last weekend.
As of last week, ACC clubs had a 1-10 record in the games that followed their scheduled in-between conference breaks since the beginning of league play.
But since then, the ACC has won three straight games following their open dates: Pittsburgh at Virginia, NC State at Clemson, and Notre Dame at Louisville.
If Carolina triumphs at Virginia on Saturday, it will make it four straight.
