NC State @ Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) NC State 56, Virginia 76

Defending national champion Virginia snapped a rare three-game losing streak last time out and looks to put back-to-back wins together when it hosts North Carolina State on Monday night in an ACC matchup. The Cavaliers lost two road games by a combined 11 points and an overtime contest at home against Syracuse before grinding out a 63-58 victory at Georgia Tech on Saturday as they deal with the pressure of expectations.

“I think our guys feel that at times, and that’s all part of it, and they’ve got to learn to play with it,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett told reporters of the group following a national title season. “I know it’s a lot on these guys, to get everyone’s best punch. … They’re not taking that (championship) banner down, but that’s last year’s team, and that team is not here, except a couple guys.” The Cavaliers hope to extend their winning streak in the series to nine games against NC State, which starts a stretch in which it plays five of the next seven contests on the road after earning two straight victories at home. The Wolfpack knocked off Miami (Fla.) 80-63 on Wednesday before knocking off Clemson 60-54 on Saturday and hope to find the answers on offense against a Virginia team that entered Sunday leading the nation in scoring defense (49.5) and sitting second in field goal percentage defense (35.6). “We need to figure out (in one day) how to score against them because they make scoring tough on you,” NC State coach Kevin Keatts told reporters. “We have gone up against teams that are good at defense, but this will definitely be the hardest test of the year.”

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (13-5, 4-3 ACC): Senior guard CJ Bryce (team highs of 15.0 points, 6.6 rebounds) returned to the lineup the last two games after missing four with a concussion and contributed 17 points along with 11 boards combined. Senior point guard Markell Johnson adds 13.1 points and a team-best 6.7 assists per game - second in the ACC - while junior forward DJ Funderburk is averaging 17 points the past six contests. Freshman forward Manny Bates, leads the league with 2.9 blocks per game, left Saturday’s contest with an apparent head injury and his status for Monday is uncertain.

ABOUT VIRGINIA (12-5, 4-3): Sophomore point guard Kihei Clark (9.8 points, team-high 5.9 assists) rebounded from a nine-turnover performance in the loss to Florida State by coughing the ball up just two times versus Georgia Tech and adding seven assists. “He has such a load on his plate,” Bennett told reporters of Clark. “He has to do so much, and I think at times he’s played like a warrior and been remarkable, and of course there’s times that he hasn’t played his best, but he’s got to do that.” Senior forward Mamadi Diakite leads the team in scoring (13.4) and has averaged 15.3 over the past three games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. NC State could also be without reserve F Pat Andree (6.5 points), who suffered an undisclosed injury Saturday.

2. Virginia’s 6-8 senior G Braxton Key contributes 10.4 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game.

3. The Wolfpack have made 49 more 3-point shots than the Cavaliers, who entered Sunday 344th in the country at 26.8 percent behind the arc.

PREDICTION: Virginia 60, NC State 54