Despite how good Virginia has been this year, they've fallen all the way to the middle tier of the ACC. They'll look to improve that mark when they travel to NC State on Saturday afternoon. The Cavaliers are slumping on a current four-game losing streak, the recent being against Miami on Monday night. The Wolfpack were able to end a seven-game skid with a narrow victory at Georgia Tech. Virginia has won the last four meetings against NC State. This game tips off at 12:00 PM Eastern time on ESPN, and it can be seen on the WatchESPN app..
No. 18 Virginia (18-9, 8-7 ACC)
It's been a rough road for the Cavaliers, who have lost six of their last eight games. After getting blitzed on national television against North Carolina, the offense stumbled again when they hosted Miami in less than 48 hours after. The team was held to under 50 points for the second straight time, and that included an additional five minutes in overtime. Virginia's offense has now been limited to an average of 58.6 points in the last five games.
Junior guard Devon Hall (8.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg) was the leading scorer with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting, most of that coming on three 3-pointers he made. Junior forward Isaiah Wilkins (7.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg) had the best overall game with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals.
North Carolina State (15-14, 4-12 ACC)
The Wolfpack won their first game since knocking off Duke back on January 23rd. They defeated Georgia Tech 71-69, with help from making eight 3-pointers and dominating the glass with a 40-28 rebounding advantage. NC State's performance comes at a time after they fired head coach Mark Gottfried.
They have given up 86 points on average in the last five games.
Senior guard Terry Henderson (14 ppg, 3 rpg) stepped up in the big win with a team-high 21 points and 5 rebounds. He went 3-for-5 from downtown and made 7-of-11 shots overall. Freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr. (18.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg) also had a stellar contribution with 18 points, and he's scored 16 or more points in the last four games.
Virginia opened as an 8.5-point favorite with the O/U set at 131.5 points. The Cavaliers are 14-11 at the spread.