Smarting Cavaliers, Tar Heels Meet In Pivotal ACC Battle

The No. 13 North Carolina men’s basketball team, 17-5 overall and 7-2 in ACC play, looks to avoid a two-game slide Monday night in the Smith Center when the league-leading and second-ranked Virginia Cavaliers, 19-1 overall and 7-1 in conference, visit Chapel Hill for a pivotal ACC showdown.

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“We talked about trying not to turn the basketball over and give them openings. We tried to talk about not fouling, and we put them on the line 44 times. […] I’m not talking about the officials. We made the fouls, and we shouldn’t have done that,” UNC head coach Roy Williams says. “The other thing we talked about was doing a great job on the backboards, and they got 17 points on offensive rebounds in the second half – poor job of playing, worse job of coaching.”

Coming off a brutal loss at the hands of the Louisville Cardinals Saturday, Carolina has no time to mourn the 18-point second half lead it let slip away.

Such is life in the ACC. A new opponent and a fresh challenge awaits the Tar Heels Monday night in a two-game in 48-hour stretch UNC is getting used to this season.

Carolina’s opponent, Virginia, can empathize with UNC’s predicament. The Cavaliers will need to move on quickly from an energy-sapping home court loss to the Duke Blue Devils Saturday night that ended their pursuit at perfection.

Coach Williams, meanwhile, will be preaching toughness in his pregame locker room speech. UNC miserably lost in that department against the more physical and aggressive Cardinals – who emphatically outrebounded, outhustled and outmanned the reeling Tar Heels.

Coach Williams, though, is taking the blame.

“That shows you something how much Louisville wanted the basketball. I hate to say this, but I’ve done a poor job of coaching, because they evidently wanted the basketball and were tougher about it than I was,” Coach Williams says.

Luckily for UNC, it appears Marcus Paige merely rolled his ankle Saturday in the KFC Yum! Center, so the junior guard should be good to go against Virginia.

Paige, who’s shooting 45.5 percent from three-point range in ACC play, says he’s eager to wipe the sour taste out of his mouth.

“I’d rather play games than practice any day. I’m excited for the challenge that Virginia’s going to bring to our gym,” Paige says.

It’s still unclear whether freshman guard Joel Berry will see action in the Dean Dome against the Cavaliers, although Coach Williams says he’s doubtful.

The methodical Cavaliers, led by head coach Tony Bennett, will hope to slow down the proceedings to a snail’s crawl; while the Tar Heels will attempt to run the show at warp speed. It provides an intriguing contrast in styles.

The Tar Heels lead the head-to-head series with the Cavaliers 128-51, but came up short in their most recent meeting – a 76-61 victory for UVA in Charlottesville last season.

UNC junior forward Brice Johnson got into foul trouble early at Louisville. Needless to say, it took him out of his game. Johnson says he’s ready to make amends.

“We knew they’d put up a fight. They ended up fighting and ended up winning. We got to be ready to compete a little bit better. Myself personally, I shouldn’t have played the way I did. You just got to be ready for the next one,” Johnson says.

Which team will best respond to weekend adversity Monday night? Everything is still on the line.

With a win, the Cavaliers would put distance between themselves and the rest of the ACC pack. A Tar Heel victory would catapult UNC into a tie for the conference lead.

Despite the bitterness of recent defeats, for one school, the Smith Center will serve as the perfect rehabilitation center.