Virginia vs. NC State Game Preview | ACC Tournament Semifinals

The Cavaliers and Wolfpack clash for the third time this season with a spot in the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game up for grabs

Follow along with score updates and play-by-play for Virginia vs. NC State here: Virginia vs. NC State Live Updates | ACC Men's Basketball Tournament

Just four teams remain in contention for the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship. The second semifinal on Friday night will feature the third meeting between No. 3 seed Virginia and No. 10 seed NC State, as the Cavaliers and Wolfpack split the regular season series with both teams defending their home courts. The rubber match will determine who represents the bottom half of the bracket in Saturday's ACC Tournament final. 

Read on for a full preview of the ACC Tournament semifinal between No. 3 seed Virginia and No. 10 seed NC State, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and what's at stake. 

First, here's a look at the updated bracket for the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament. 

2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament - Updated Bracket / ACC

Click here to see the updated schedule, bracket, and game scores for the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament.

Game Details

Who: No. 3 seed Virginia Cavaliers (23-9) vs. No. 10 seed NC State Wolfpack (20-14)

When: Friday, March 15th at 9:30pm ET

Where: Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. 

How to watch: ESPN2

How to stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

How to listen: SiriusXM 371 | Virginia Sports Radio Network - click here for affiliates

All-time series: NC State leads 86-70

Last meeting: Virginia defeated NC State 59-53 in overtime on January 24th, 2024. 

Notes & History on Virginia at the ACC Tournament

• Virginia earned the No. 3 seed at the ACC Tournament for the fifth time ever and first time since 2000.
• UVA is 3-4 as the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament
• Virginia owns a 47-65 all-time record at the ACC Tournament and a 10-16 record in the semifinals. 
• UVA is looking for its fourth ACC Tournament Championship and third under Tony Bennett, having won the title in 1976, 2014, and 2018.
• Virginia is looking for its fifth appearance in the ACC Tournament title game under Tony Bennett.
• Virginia has reached the semifinals in eight of its last 10 ACC Tournament appearances.
• UVA is 16-10 at the ACC Tournament under Tony Bennett. 

Notes on Virginia vs. NC State

• NC State holds an 86-70 advantage against Virginia in the all-time series that dates back to the 1912-1913 season. 
• Virginia is 3-14 against NC State in the ACC Tournament and 0-4 against the Wolfpack in the ACC semifinals, but UVA won the most recent ACCT meeting between these two teams, a 76-56 win over the Wolfpack in the 2019 ACC Tournament quarterfinals. 
• NC State is 21-3 against Virginia at neutral sites. 
• Virginia is 16-6 against NC State under Tony Bennett. 
• UVA and NC State split the regular season series, with the Wolfpack winning 76-60 in Raleigh and the Cavaliers winning 59-53 in overtime in Charlottesville. 

Opponent Scouting Report: NC State

2023-2024: 20-14

Late in February, NC State was 9-7 in ACC play and in contention for a top four seed in the ACC Tournament. Then came a brutal four-game losing skid to the end the regular season, which dropped the Wolfpack down to the No. 10 seed and banished them to play on the first day of the ACC Tournament, which is usually a death sentence for any team looking to make a run in the conference tournament. 

And yet, Kevin Keatts has his squad still alive and among the last four teams remaining in the ACC Tournament. The Wolfpack are simply playing great basketball since arriving in Washington, D.C., although it didn't start out that way. In the first game of the tournament, the last act of the Kenny Payne era of Louisville basketball gave NC State a scare in the first round on Tuesday, as Skyy Clark scored 36 points and the Cardinals led by as many as 12 points in the first half. But former Cavalier Casey Morsell went off for 25 points and was a perfect 13/13 from the free throw line and four other Wolfpack players scored in double figures  as NC State ultimately won the track meet 94-85. 

Some people had No. 7 seed Syracuse as a dark horse candidate to make a run in the ACC Tournament and possibly earn some consideration for the Big Dance by the end of the week. Not so. A balanced scoring attack featuring 18 points from Jayden Taylor, 16 points each from Michael O'Connell and DJ Horne, and 15 points from DJ Horne allowed NC State to pull away for a surprisingly comfortable 83-65 victory over the Orange in the second round on Wednesday. 

And finally, in perhaps the most impressive result of the ACC Tournament so far, NC State faced a rested Duke team which had beaten the Wolfpack in Raleigh by 15 points just 10 days earlier and prevailed. Kyle Filipowski had 28 points and 14 rebounds and Mark Mitchell scored 18, but Duke got virtually nothing from the rest of its lineup and had zero bench points. Watching this game from inside the arena, it was clear that NC State wanted it more, making the hustle plays and playing with energy and physicality despite playing for the third day in a row. Five players scored in double figures for the Wolfpack, led by 18 points from DJ Horne. But their defense was the story, holding Duke to 43.1% shooting and 5/20 from beyond the arc. NC State outscored Duke 18-8 in second-chance points, a statistical category that is the epitome of hustle, and that proved to be the difference. Despite NC State playing its fourth game in four days, the Cavaliers should expect the same thing on Friday night and a similar level of aggressions as they saw from Boston College on Thursday.

The first meeting between these two teams was a back-and-forth affair early on, but then NC State went on a run at the end of the first half and never looked back, cruising to a 76-60 win. Other than Isaac McKneely hitting a few threes in garbage time, Virginia was ice-cold from beyond the arc, while NC State made 10 threes and Dennis Parker, Jayden Taylor, and DJ Horne combined for 44 points. 

The rematch in Charlottesville was a slugfest. Five Virginia players scored in double figures, headlined by a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double for Ryan Dunn. UVA actually shot worse in this game than in the first meeting, but dominated the rebounding battle 54-32 and held NC State to just two made field goals in overtime to earn the 59-53 win. 

The third matchup will likely feature just as much physicality as the first two games and as was seen in UVA's quarterfinal game against Boston College. Replace the 7'0", 235-pound Quinten Post with the 6'9", 275-pound DJ Burns and you'll see another handful for the Virginia forwards to deal with. Burns won't stretch the floor as much as Post, but the Cavaliers will be under significantly more pressure on both ends of the floor from NC State's guards, who are athletic and tough and not afraid of contact. Look out for DJ Horne on the perimeter, as he is a 42.5% three-point shooter on 6.5 attempts. But as the Wolfpack have shown throughout this tournament, they can get their scoring from any number of guys, including Jayden Taylor, Casey Morsell, Mohamed Diarra, and Michael O'Connell. 

What to Watch For

Physicality and Hustle

Don't expect NC State to plainly exhibit tiredness just because of playing four games in four days. The Wolfpack want to continue to extend their season, so they'll leave everything on the floor. Plus, Virginia needing overtime to beat Boston College resulted in that game being played deep into the night on Thursday, so don't be so sure that there is such a substantial gap in rest/stamina between these two teams. 

Jordan Minor vs. DJ Burns

The freshman Blake Buchanan got the start at center for Virginia vs. Boston College, most likely with the strategy that his mobility would be better served against Quinten Post, who likes to pop to the perimeter off of screens. But it was Jordan Minor who ultimately locked up Post in the post, holding him scoreless for the final 10 minutes of the game (regulation and overtime). Expect Minor to get the start this time and his battle with DJ Burns will be an entertaining and important individual matchup to watch. 

Health, availability, and picking up the slack.

Tony Bennett mentioned after Thursday's game that "a couple guys" got injured earlier this week in practice and then specified that Isaac McKneely had sprained his ankle and hadn't practiced for four days. McKneely was 0/5 from the floor in regulation against Boston College, but then hit a huge three and assisted on a Beekman three in overtime. Keep an eye on McKneely's mobility and minutes after he played 29 minutes on what Bennett called a "pretty bad" ankle sprain. Taine Murray and Andrew Rohde picked up the slack against Boston College and they might be called on to do so again in the semis against NC State. 

What's at Stake

NC State

Just like Boston College, NC State is still not close to consideration for the NCAA Tournament even after winning three-straight games and knocking off a top 10 opponent in Duke. But the Wolfpack are now just two wins away from getting there by stealing the ACC's automatic qualifier along with the tournament title. They can smell it and Virginia is standing in their way. 

Virginia

Prior to the ACC Tournament, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi said Virginia was in a "win and you're in" situation. Well, the Cavaliers won, so they should be in, right? Maybe not quite, as the other Bubble teams Virginia is jostling with for the final spots in the field of 68 have also fared well in their respective conference tournaments so far, so it might not be so black and white. It should also be noted that all of the Bracketology talk is just guessing at what the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee thinks based on historic trends. Virginia is in good position, but can cement its case for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament with a win over NC State (NET No. 69) on Friday night, which would also earn the Cavaliers a trip to the ACC Tournament title game for the second-consecutive year. 

CavaliersNow is on site at Capital One Arena this week providing complete coverage of the Virginia Cavaliers at the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament.

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