Virginia vs. UNC: By the Numbers

The Virginia Men’s Basketball team picked up a big win over North Carolina on Sunday afternoon, giving the Hoos a 2-0 start in ACC play before the calendar turns to 2020. Despite a slow start, Virginia shot much better beyond the arc (35%) and got 25 points off the bench. The Cavalier defense limited Carolina’s freshman superstar Cole Anthony to just 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting, and he committed six turnovers to go with no assists.

Here is the game breakdown By the Numbers:

1947-48 - Three days before scoring 47 points against the Cavaliers, North Carolina scored 49 in its ACC/Big Ten matchup against Ohio State. The back-to-back games being held under 50 points was a first for Roy Williams, and it was the first time it has happened to a Tar Heel team since the 1947-48 season. That’s a long time. In the Heels’ defense (pun intended), it’s not easy going against the No. 1 (Virginia) and No. 2 (Ohio State) defenses on KenPom in successive games.

7 - At least North Carolina won’t feel lonely. The Tar Heels became the seventh team the Cavaliers held under the 50-point mark this season, with just Vermont (55) and Purdue (69) scoring more. One team failed to reach 30 (Maine), and two (Syracuse and JMU) didn’t hit the 40-point mark. Virginia’s defense continues to set the standard nationally, giving up just 44.2 points per game.

7% - The Tar Heels haven’t really lit things up offensively this season, but Virginia limited UNC to 7% shooting from beyond the arc (1-for-14). Anthony hit the lone three of the game at the 17:33 mark in the second half as the Heels went 0-for-8 over the first 20 minutes.

75% - Conversely, this was a bit of a coming out party for the three-point shooting of junior college transfer Tomas Woldetensae. He was 3-for-21 from downtown (14.3%) for the season before going 3-for-4 (75%) against North Carolina on Sunday. Woldetensae was struggling with a hand injury to start the season, and fans were clamoring for him to shoot anywhere near his average of 47.6% from Indian Hills CC. This was certainly a good start in an area the Hoos desperately need the consistency.

10 - As mentioned above, Virginia got 25 points from bench contributors. Ten of those came from Francisco “Papi” Caffaro as he finished put backs, posted up defenders, and sank free throws. In addition to his contributions in the scoring column, Caffaro swatted one block and grabbed seven rebounds. Papi brings physicality to the lineup and injected a jolt of energy into the Cavaliers when they definitely needed it.

11 - Virginia pulled down 11 offensive boards against the Tar Heels, three more than a UNC team that relies on second chance opportunities. First year Justin McKoy — who also played a fantastic, physical game for the Hoos — had a team-high three offensive rebounds, and Caffaro added two. A couple of the offensive boards came late in the game as the Cavaliers were able to burn more time off the clock. While the offensive rebounds are great, Virginia only got nine second chance points (UNC had 10 for comparison).

13 - Ok, we can’t only highlight the good things. Virginia had 13 turnovers against the Heels, including nine in the first half. Six of those nine came in the first 10 minutes of the game, and three of the 13 occurred in the final 2:30. Mamadi Diakite had an especially tough day with holding on to the ball as he turned it over six times.

5 - Sunday’s win over the Heels was the fifth straight in the series. The Hoos haven’t lost to Carolina since February of 2017, and the Tar Heels have failed to hit the 50-point mark in three of those five losses. That’s pretty good.