The North Carolina Tar Heels, trying to beat a massive winter weather storm heading for the South, traveled up to Charlottesville for a Saturday afternoon basketball clash with rival Virginia.
John Paul Jones Arena isn't kind to UNC, which won there in 2024 for the first time in 12 years. UVA looked well on its way to another win Saturday, thanks to controlling the boards and plenty of second-chance opportunities.
Thanks to a red-hot second half, which featured a Jarin Stevenson takeover and red-hot shooting, North Carolina escaped Charlottesville with an 85-80 victory.
The Tar Heels (16-4, 4-3 ACC), whom secured their first conference road win, came back from 16 down in the first half. UNC closed its second-half deficit to five points early, thanks to buckets from Seth Trimble, Derek Dixon and a Caleb Wilson dunk, then eventually took a 59-58 lead on a Stevenson dunk.
If there's one specific player to credit for North Carolina's comeback, look no further than Stevenson, the Chapel Hill native. Stevenson scored all 17 of his points in the second half, starting with an early layup and ending that hot stretch with a 3-pointer.
Virginia (16-3, 5-2 ACC), which lost at home for the first time all season, gave the Tar Heels paint trouble early. UNC attacked the Cavaliers' big men late, re-taking its final lead thanks to and-ones – on consecutive possessions – from Stevenson and senior captain Seth Trimble.
Wilson scored 20 points, tying Tyler Hansbrough for most 20-point games by a North Carolina freshman (14), while perimeter defense held UVA to just 30 percent from deep. The Tar Heels shot 49 percent (30-of-61) overall from the field, including a 45% (10-of-22) mark from beyond the arc.
UNC, which fielded significant questions after dropping two straight on its West Coast swing , is right back in the thick of ACC contention after Saturday's big upset.
BOOM! UNC secures its first ACC road win of the season, stomping into Charlottesville for a clutch, 85-80 victory over rival Virginia
North Carolina overcame a 16-point deficit in the first half, out-scoring the Cavaliers 51-37 in second-half action.
UNC leads, 84-80, with nine seconds left.
With Caleb Wilson's stepback bank shot, extending UNC's lead over Virginia to 83-79 with 31 seconds left, he now ties Tyler Hansbrough for most 20-point games by a freshman in program history.
Wilson and Hansbrough each have 14 20-point games.
UNC holds on to a slim, 81-77 advantage over Virginia with 1:19 left in the second half.
Moments after Stevenson converted his and-one, Trimble did the same, stretching UNC's lead to 78-74 with two minutes remaining in the second half.
Stevenson, a Chapel Hill native who transferred in from Alabama during the offseason, gives UNC a crucial 75-74 lead with 2:50 left in the second half.
Stevenson converted an and-one.
The Cavaliers are right back in this one, leading UNC 73-72 at the under-4 media timeout here in second-half action.
UVA forced a turnover, two UNC misses and has the last five points. North Carolina watched a 67-62 lead turn into a 67-all tie.
The Tar Heels are now 8-of-16 on 3-pointers, which kept them in the game during a tough first half.
The Tar Heels are living up to their billing as a second-half team, taking a 59-58 lead over Virginia into the second half's under-12 media timeout.
North Carolina is sharing and shooting the basketballll extremely well. Jarin Stevenson has UNC's last four points.
Jarin Stevenson took a high pass from Henri Veesaar and slammed the basketball home, giving UNC a 59-58 lead over Virginia with 12 minutes left in the second half!
North Carolina still trails by just five, 54-49, with 15:03 remaining in the second half. Henri Veesaar (tip-in layup) and Derek Dixon (3-pointer) have the Tar Heels' last five points.
UNC came roaring out of the locker room, making shots on its last four possessions: two Seth Trimble threes, a Derek Dixon two and a Caleb Wilson dunk.
North Carolina trails by just five, 49-44, forcing a Virginia timeout just three minutes into the second half.
Trimble nailed a stepback three to start UNC's second-half scoring, then hit another on the Tar Heels next possission.
Tar Heels trail 47-40 early.
De Ridder is leading all scorers with 13 points. He also has five rebounds, tied with UNC Jonathan Powell for most amongst all players.
The Tar Heels are allowing too many second-chance point opportunities, with De Ridder getting a few of those.
UVA has a sizable, 26-16 rebounding advantage over UNC in the first half.
The Cavaliers are outplaying the Tar Heels in just about every aspect, expect one: perimeter shooting.
UNC shot 6-of-11 from beyond the arc in first-half action, nailing six of its first 11 attempts. Luka Bogavac is 3-of-4 from deep, while Henri Veesaar and Derek Dixon have one each.
Thanks to Luka Bogavac and Derek Dixon nailing 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, including Dixon's in the first half's final seconds, UNC turned a 15-point deficit into nine.
Thanks to a turnaround hook shot from Henri Veesaar, UNC closed its double-digit deficit to eight points.
A failure to box out led to a Virginia 3-pointer – and North Carolina trails, 37-26, at the under-4 media timeout here in first-half action.
UNC is just six of its first 20 (30 percent) from the field.
The Tar Heels trail UVA, 30-19, at the under-8 media timeout in first half action.
Virginia big man Thijs De Ridder took advantage of his mismatch against Seth Trimble, backing down into the paint for an easy hook shot.
The host Cavaliers built an 11-point, 28-17 lead as North Carolina struggled shooting the ball. Tar Heels are one of their last eight from the field.
Halfway through the first half, Virginia has a +9 rebounding margin over UNC. 13-4.
The Tar Heels worked their way back from a 10-2 deficit to start today's game, tying it at 14-all, but now trail by a 24-17 score at the under-12 media timeout in first half action.
Virginia has threes on two of its past three possessions. Luka Bogavac made a 3-pointer himself for UNC.
For the second-straight game, UNC will roll with a starting five of Derek Dixon, Jaydon Young, Seth Trimble, Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar.
TV Channel: ESPN2
Time:12 p.m. ET
Radio: SiriusXM (Channel 83 and 194)
Website: WatchESPN
This is a brutal matchup for North Carolina.
Start with the perimeter. Virginia is shooting 37.1% from 3-point range — third in the ACC and 37th nationally among more than 360 Division I teams. UNC, meanwhile, sits dead last in the league in 3-point defense, and opponents have been feasting from deep. That's not a small flaw; it's the exact weakness you don't want to bring into a game against a team that spaces the floor and shoots confidently.
Then there's the frontcourt. For weeks, Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson have had a physical and size advantage most nights. Virginia can actually match — and maybe surpass — that. Power forward Thijs De Ridder (16.1 points, 6.2 rebounds) and 7-footers Johann Grunloh (8.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks) and Ugonna Onyenso (6.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 blocks off the bench) give the Cavaliers three legitimate paint anchors.
They don't just look imposing; the numbers back it up. That trio powers Virginia to the top of the ACC in rebound margin (plus-9.0), offensive rebounds (14.2) and total rebounds (41.9) per game.
And all of that sits on top of Virginia's usual defensive edge. The Cavaliers lead the ACC in field goal percentage defense (38.1%), 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.9%), effective field goal defense (43.5%) and blocks per game (6.4). They're third in the league in scoring defense at 67.5 points allowed per game.
Put it together, and the picture isn't pretty for UNC. The Tar Heels don't guard the 3, they get bullied on the glass, and outside of Seth Trimble, Veesaar and Wilson, there isn't enough proven shot-making to stress an elite defense for 40 minutes.
The Notre Dame win may have been a step in the right direction, but this is a different weight class. Unless North Carolina turns in its best defensive performance of the season and steals extra possessions on the boards, Virginia's balance and toughness should carry the day.
Prediction:Virginia 82, North Carolina 68
Spread: UVA -6.5
Total: 149.5
Moneyline: UNC OFF
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC charges back from double-digit deficit to upset UVA on the road
