ACC Finals: Virginia vs. UNC

The ACC Finals are set and it's racehorse UNC against mule stubborn Virginia.

UNC put on a tremendous game against Notre Dame, just overwhelming the Irish.

The Tar Heels had a 24-0 run which went from the first half to the second. After the game, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said he could have just saved time and made travel plans at the half. That's how good UNC was.

Virginia was also quite good, though not nearly as dominant.

The style Virginia plays doesn't really lend itself to dominance except via defense. We said mule stubborn above, which is fair, but really Virginia is more like a python. The Cavaliers just squeeze the life out of you.

So give Miami credit for making the end game competitive. We've seen enough of Tony Bennett's style now to understand that it can psychologically destroy a team, a la Louisville. That didn't happen to Miami.

The 'Canes actually shot pretty well hitting 54.8%, but Virginia limited to Miami to five offensive rebounds.

Not that UNC played poor defense against Notre Dame. The Irish shot just 30% and were pounded on the boards, 49-24 and 19-7 on the offensive boards.

This follows up on UNC's tremendous 64 rebound effort against Duke. UNC wasn't as sensational rebounding against Pitt, but that's a real point of emphasis for Jamie Dixon.

In the only meeting between UNC and Virginia, the Tar Heels outrebounded Cavs 36-33.

UNC scored 74 points against Virginia, in Charlottesville, which is a lot to put up on this team.

Miami managed 68 on Friday which is actually pretty high too. In recent games here's what other teams have managed against Virginia, all wins unless otherwise noted:

• Georgia Tech: 52
• Louisville: 46
• Clemson: 57
• UNC: 74
• Miami: 61 (L)
• NCSU: 53
• Duke: 63 (L)
• Va. Tech: 49
• BC: 47
• Louisville: 47
• Wake Forest: 71

That's pretty solid.

Let's just do the entire ACC season:

• Syracuse: 65
• Clemson: 62
• Florida State: 62
• Miami: 58
• Georgia Tech: 64
• Virginia Tech: 70 (L)
• Notre Dame: 66

That works out to 59.2 ppg against Virginia.

So we know what UNC is playing very well and Virginia tends to constrict with defense. So what happens Saturday?

Well here's the first thing and we talked about this idea last year after Kentucky completely destroyed West Virginia.

This is not provable and there are probably exceptions for notably great teams. Generally speaking, though, we think this is pretty consistent: you only get one great game per tournament.

If you're lucky, like UNLV in 1990, or Villanova against Georgetown, it comes at the end.

If you're like Kentucky, and like most teams, that West Virginia game was an incredible high and you're not going to touch it again.

We think that's the case for UNC's win over Notre Dame. UNC was totally dominant. Everything came up roses for the Heels.

That won't happen twice in a row.

That's not to say that UNC can't win. Obviously this team is playing better than it was earlier and was brilliant Friday evening.

But we will say that won't hit that level Saturday, and that's compounded by Virginia's skill in frustrating offense.

If it's a tight, low-scoring game, things have gone Virginia's way.

We'll see Saturday afternoon.

Incidentally, both Virginia and UNC are in line for #1 seeds and if they get them, that means Duke beat at least two top seeds.