The No. 13 Virginia men's basketball team, following an 85-72 win at home in a strong team effort against Missouri, next enters an environment which has given them much difficulty recently: a road game in the ACC.
The Cavaliers face No. 5 North Carolina in Chapel Hill tonight at 7 p.m. Carolina (15-2, 5-0 ACC) is riding a 12-game winning streak, highlighted by the stellar play of sophomore guard Joseph Forte. In the Heels' 80-70 victory at Florida State on Saturday, Forte put in a 28-point performance.
Last year, for the first time since 1981, the Cavs (13-3, 2-3 ACC) swept the Tar Heels, a team that eventually made a record-tying 15th Final Four appearance after an inconsistent regular season.
Saturday against Missouri, Virginia held the Tigers to 43.3 percent shooting from the field.
"Defending the shot well against Missouri gave us a boost," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We're going to have to continue that for UNC. We're going to have to defend at the halfcourt."
While forward Chris Williams has stepped up as the Cavaliers' leading scorer for the season, the Cavs know they work best with a balanced scoring attack. Against the Tigers the Cavs placed five scorers in double figures.
But defending North Carolina perhaps will be Virginia's most complex task, as the Tar Heels have many scoring weapons. In addition to Forte, who averages 19.9 points per game, the Tar Heels have forward Jason Capel and 7-foot center Brendan Haywood.
In their string of victories, the Tar Heels have defeated No. 9 Wake Forest and No. 8 Maryland, both in close games. Earlier in the season, Virginia suffered a 96-73 pounding at Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers know they have to lift their level of play to have a chance of winning at North Carolina.
The Tar Heels "are playing really well right now," Williams said. "It's going to be really tough to go down to their gym again and come out with a win, but we're going to try."
After a 42-point loss at Duke Jan. 13 and a 1-3 start in the ACC, the Cavs changed their defensive press to a zone defense when they faced Florida State Jan. 16. After adjusting and claiming a decisive victory, the Cavs successfully mixed up their defenses against Missouri's run-and-gun offense.
Another key to the Cavaliers' success will be the condition of center Travis Watson, who didn't start Saturday because of a strained hamstring but scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Watson will have to guard Haywood in one of his toughest match-ups of the season.
Can the Cavaliers do to the Tar Heels what they did last season?
"We have a very talented team, but we still have a lot of work to do for the ACC," Gillen said. "UNC is going to be a huge game"
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