These are impassioned times for teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble. With results magnified, the wins are more exhilarating and the losses more devastating.
That was the case this week for two bubble teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. After Virginia Tech earned a hard-fought 62-53 win over Virginia on Monday, North Carolina put an ugly blemish on its resume following its home loss to Pittsburgh.
When the Hokies (16-10, 8-7 ACC) host the Tar Heels (18-8, 10-5) on Saturday in Blacksburg, Va., the game carries added weight as neither team can afford a loss.
The Hokies have worked their way into the NCAA Tournament discussion by winning six straight games. Avenging a previous loss to Virginia was a huge boost for Virginia Tech, which received 24 points, eight rebounds and four blocks from Keve Aluma.
Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said he never doubted his team.
“I said when the lights come on, it was gonna be beautiful. We’re gonna play really good basketball and we’re gonna have a lot of fun doing it,” Young said. “That’s where we are and that’s what we’ve been doing for a while.”
While Virginia Tech is flying high, North Carolina is coming off its worst loss following a 76-67 setback to Pittsburgh.
The Panthers bolted to an early lead and the Tar Heels didn’t put up much resistance. The Panthers made 51.1 percent of their shots from the floor, including 10 of 17 (58.8 percent) from 3-point range.
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis needed 15 seconds of awkward silence to gather himself before addressing the first question at the post-game press conference.
“You can sit here and whine and complain and point fingers and make excuses and continue to be down on yourself,” Davis said. “Or you can show up the next day and get ready to compete and fight and get after it.”
UNC’s top scorer and rebounder Armando Bacot got into early foul trouble and finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
Bacot collected 14 points and 20 rebounds as North Carolina posted a 78-68 win over Virginia Tech on Jan. 24.
“No reason to hang our heads,” said Caleb Love, who led the Tar Heels with 19 points against Pitt. “Yes, this is a bad loss for sure. But we got a game on Saturday, and we still gotta go get a win.”
–Field Level Media