UNC basketball has a losing record on the road this season.
The Tar Heels (19-11, 12-6 ACC) have an opportunity to remedy that blemish at Virginia Tech (13-16, 8-10) on Tuesday (7 p.m., ESPNU) in Blacksburg.
UNC, which is 5-6 in true road games this season, is 9-5 against the Hokies at Cassell Coliseum. The Heels have lost two of their last three games in Blacksburg.
Entering the final week of the regular season, UNC is included in 11 of 99 bracket projections for the NCAA Tournament on Bracket Matrix. Most projections have the Tar Heels among the first four teams out of March Madness, but a five-game winning streak has kept UNC in the conversation.
Here’s a preview, some players to watch and a score prediction for UNC vs. Virginia Tech.
Seth Trimble, Jae’Lyn Withers, UNC basketball’s 3-point shooting
The Tar Heels are 17-4 this season when they make at least 30% of their shots from 3-point range. In five of the last seven games, UNC has drilled at least 40% of its treys, with double-digit 3s in back-to-back games for the first time all season. Jae’Lyn Withers has powered the five-game surge with 12 three-pointers in that stretch, but Seth Trimble appears to be heating up from long range. Trimble has made multiple 3s in back-to-back games for the first time since late November at the Maui Invitational. If UNC can continue to hit from the perimeter, it opens up the floor for everything else.
UNC’s defense has to be better vs Virginia Tech
The Tar Heels have been able to string together wins, but their defense will have to be better if they want to keep playing meaningful games in March. Over the last four games, UNC’s average effective field-goal percentage defense has been 54.2%, according to KenPom. In the Tar Heels’ 11 losses, their average effective field-goal percentage defense has been 53.4%. Virginia Tech’s average effective field-goal percentage offense has been 60.7% across the last three games, so the Hokies are capable of pulling off an upset if UNC doesn’t show improvement.
North Carolina native Jaydon Young among Hokies to watch vs UNC
Goldsboro native Jaydon Young, who played at Greensboro Day School before joining Virginia Tech, is a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard capable of piling up points. As a North Carolina kid, Young will no doubt be fired up to play the Tar Heels. After sporadic minutes as a freshman, Young has become a consistent scorer of late. He’s reached 26 or more points in two of the last three games.
UNC vs Virginia Tech score prediction
UNC 80, Virginia Tech 69: The Tar Heels tinkered with their lineup and found positive momentum in time for March. Cassell Coliseum is an underrated venue and Mike Young is an underrated coach, but UNC appears to be aware of the stakes in the final week of the regular season.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball vs Virginia Tech: Score prediction, scouting report
