CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –– No. 10 North Carolina broke an ugly 12-year streak Saturday, beating the Cavaliers 54-44 in John Paul Jones Arena.
Even in his years as an assistant coach, UNC head coach Hubert Davis had never won there, and the team as a whole was well aware of their years-worth of blunders at Virginia. But they were able to overcome the hump, earning their 13th conference victory of the season to maintain their status as the top team in the ACC.
Sixth-year senior and two-time transfer guard Cormac Ryan found the basket six times from deep to match his career-high. By the end of the first half, he already made five and he finished the game shooting 6-of-11 from the line. He led the team in scoring for the first time all season with 18 points, providing a much-needed burst of energy for the Tar Heels, who struggled to make shots fall against a Virginia team that leads the ACC in defensive efficiency.
54 points was UNC’s lowest scoring output in a win since 2012 and many of their
points came off second-chance opportunities. North Carolina’s last 18 points in the game were off these conversions. The Cavaliers went on a stretch where they missed 22 of their 23 field attempts in the first half. They made just 17 percent of their shots in the first half and finished with 27 percent from the field (16-of-58).
That’s not to say the Tar Heels didn’t have some issues of their own. North Carolina made just 32 percent of their shots in the game (16-of-50) and went scoreless across a four minute stretch in the first relying on Ryan to break the ice with yet another 3-pointer to maintain their lead and keep the Cavaliers at bay.
UNC ran into this issue again in the second half but were able to fend their opponent off and come out with a historic win.
Now, the Tar Heels must shift their focus to tonight where they begin a three-game home-stand as they begin to close out the season and look ahead to the ACC Tournament.
The schedule is set up incredibly well for North Carolina as they first play host to the Hurricanes, who they just defeated 75-72 15 days ago down in Coral Gables. On Saturday, UNC will host N.C. State. They took a double-digit win over the Wolfpack back on Jan. 10 and are looking to sweep that series. And for their final game of the regular season, they’ll see Notre Dame for the first time all season. The Irish float at the bottom of the conference with a 5-11 ACC record, 10-17 overall.
So from the looks of it, these are winnable games for the Tar Heels before they head over to Durham to face the Blue Devils in their regular season finale. With the Devils sitting in the second place spot in the conference, North Carolina must tread carefully and make these games count before the ACC title chase begins on Mar. 12 in D.C.