Previewing NC State’s Opponent: Virginia

NC State (13-5/5-2) will attempt to be the first team to beat Virginia (13-5/4-3) on their home court tonight. Currently, the Cavaliers are 10-0 in John Paul Jones Arena this season.

The Wolfpack are 4-5 against UVA under Kevin Keatts, winning 2 out of their 4 opportunities in Charlottesville under his watch. Even though NC State lost their last game at Virginia on February 7th, 2023, the Wolfpack won the two prior games in Charlottesville.

Since NC State defeated the Cavaliers 76-60 at home on January 6th, UVA has gone 1-2, winning their last two games. After losing to Wake Forest 66-47 on the road, Virginia has won back-to-back games against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech (away game).

A win over UVA tonight would be a Quad 1 win, which would be significant for the Wolfpack’s NCAA Tournament resume. Currently, NC State is 0-4 in Quad 1 games this season.

Senior Guard Reece Beekman continues to lead the Cavs in scoring, assists and steals, averaging 13.2 points, 6.1 assists and 2.2 steals. Beekman is the ACC leader in assists. Over the past two games, Beekman has averaged 17.5 points, scoring 19 against Georgia Tech his last time out.

Sophomore Guard Isaac McKneely was the Cavs leading scorer when they played NC State earlier this month, scoring 18 points, while making 4 three pointers. He has a hot hand right now, scoring 20 points against the Yellow Jackets his last time out, making six three-pointers. McKneely is averaging 11.9 points per game, and is shooting 48.9% from beyond the arc, which leads the conference.

Sophomore Ryan Dunn (6’8″) leads UVA in rebounding, pulling down 6.8 per game.

Per usual, UVA leads the ACC in scoring defense, allowing only 58.2 points per game. They led the ACC in this category heading into their first game against the Wolfpack, but allowed NC State to score 76 in the loss. With that being said, they are even a little stingier at home, allowing only 57.3 points per game at home in their 3 ACC games.