North Carolina Closes Out Three Game Homestand With Virginia

On Monday night eighth ranked North Carolina will closeout their three game homestand by hosting third ranked Virginia who had a player leave their previous game that took place over the weekend in Charlottesville.

Virginia forward Mamadi Diakite collided with a teammate and his night ended with 13:06 remaining in the first half. “according to https://www.roanoke.com/sports/uva-forward-diakite-s-status-unclear-for-unc-game/article_4d30a950-e94a-51f7-8e9c-ca750e055a61.html With that being said will he be able to play when Virginia visits Chapel Hill?

North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 19-4 while they’re 9-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. while Virginia comes into the game with a record of 20-2 while they’re 8-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

As for North Carolina’s previous game, they topped Miami in overtime.

North Carolina hit every big shot it needed in an unexpectedly dire situation at home against struggling Miami. That allowed the eighth-ranked Tar Heels to hang on for their best Atlantic Coast Conference start under Roy Williams. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-miami.aspx

Freshman Coby White matched his season high with 33 points and Luke Maye and Kenny Williams each hit critical 3-pointers to help the Tar Heels edge the Hurricanes 88-85 in overtime Saturday. The victory pushed the Tar Heels (19-4) to 9-1 in the ACC for the first time in their 16 seasons under their Hall of Fame coach. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-miami.aspx

"I feel very fortunate to say the least," Roy Williams said. "I questioned our kids' toughness throughout the whole game, and was still doing it at the end. But I think they answered it pretty well down the stretch. They made plays, made shots."
They sure did. Big ones, too. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-miami.aspx

First there was White, who scored 23 points with six 3-pointers in the second half alone. That included one with 41.0 seconds left in regulation to bring UNC to within 75-74. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-miami.aspx

Next was Maye, who hit the overtime-forcing 3 with 10.2 seconds left. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-miami.aspx

Finally there was Kenny Williams, the senior defensive stopper who had been quiet offensively before hitting the go-ahead 3 with 2:08 to go in overtime. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-miami.aspx

The Tar Heels struggled all day to slow 5-foot-7 Chris Lykes and the Hurricanes (10-13, 2-9). Lykes finished with 19 of his 27 points after halftime, including a 3 over 6-6 defender Nassir Little with 1:31 left that gave Miami a 72-71 lead. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-miami.aspx

But on Miami's final possession, with UNC fouling to protect a three-point lead, White poked the ball loose from Lykes. Williams dove on the floor to recover the ball for a game-sealing turnover that allowed UNC to kill the final seconds. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-miami.aspx

"Chris Lykes at one end, Coby White at the other was quite a show," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said, adding: "We came ever-so-close to accomplishing what we hoped to do today." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-tar-heels-vs-miami.aspx

As for Virginia’s previous game, Unlike North Carolina, Virginia lost their previous game to North Carolina’s tobacco road rival Duke in Charlottesville.

– No. 3 Virginia (20-2, 8-2 ACC) fell 81-71 to No. 2 Duke (21-2, 9-1 ACC) on Saturday evening at John Paul Jones Arena. “according to https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-no-3-virginia-falls-81-71-to-no-2-duke.aspx
 
Virginia had three players in double-figures, led by juniors Kyle Guy (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Ty Jerome (New Rochelle, N.Y.) with 16 points each. De'Andre Hunter (Philadelphia, Pa.) added 11 points. Braxton Key (Charlotte, N.C.) had a season-high 10 rebounds. “according to https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-no-3-virginia-falls-81-71-to-no-2-duke.aspx

UVA led in boards (28-25) and points in the paint (28-24). Duke had 17 fast break points and shot 58 percent from the field and 62 percent beyond the arc. “according to https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-no-3-virginia-falls-81-71-to-no-2-duke.aspx
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Duke opened the game on an 8-0 run before junior Mamadi Diakite (Conakry, Guinea, Africa) hit a jumper and senior Jack Salt (Auckland, New Zealand) added a layup. Diakite had seven of UVA's first nine points. UVA trailed 36-24, but went on an 11-3 run to close the second half and trail 39-35 at the break. The Blue Devils controlled the second half, with UVA cutting into the lead but not able to get closer than five down the stretch. “according to https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/2/9/mens-basketball-no-3-virginia-falls-81-71-to-no-2-duke.aspx

Tip-off is set for 7:00pm from the Dean E. Smith Center. The game will be televised on ESPN.