Virginia @ NC State preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 14, 2018 ) NC State 51, Virginia 68

Virginia looks to remain one of four one-loss teams in ACC play as it visits North Carolina State on Tuesday evening, The third-ranked Cavaliers are coming off an easy win at Notre Dame over the weekend, while the 22nd-ranked Wolfpack edged Clemson on Saturday.

Virginia silenced a sold-out Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind., on Saturday afternoon by jumping to a 12-0 lead and making 16 of its first 26 field-goal attempts while holding Notre Dame scoreless for six-plus minutes to start the game. "I told the guys before if you're ready to play, you're ready to play regardless of when you get here," Virginia coach Tony Bennett told reporters after the 82-55 win. "On the road, to come out and be good defensively, our defense made them earn what they got." N.C. State, who has alternated wins and losses over its last seven games, snuck by the Tigers 69-67 as Braxton Beverly hit a game-winning 3-pointer with just one second remaining in regulation. "As soon as it left my hand, I knew I made it," Beverly told the media after the game in which Clemson’s Marcquise Reed missed four free throws over the final 14 seconds to help set up Beverly’s heroics.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT VIRGINIA (18-1, 6-1 ACC): De’Andre Hunter scored a game-high 19 points and added seven rebounds as five Cavaliers reached double figures in scoring against Notre Dame. Kyle Guy, Virginia’s leading scorer at 15 points per game, hit his average in what was a bit of a homecoming for him after he was named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in 2016. The Cavaliers shot 52.2 percent from the floor against the Fighting Irish, including 44.4 percent from long range, and won the rebounding battle 45-33 while only turning the ball over twice.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (16-4, 4-3): Beverly was just 2-of-9 from the field before hitting the game-winner and finished with 12 points, four rebounds and five assists. Markell Johnson scored a team-high 16 points in 23 minutes off the bench, while C.J. Bryce added 15 on 5-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Free-throw shooting proved to be the difference, as the Wolfpack made 12-of-13 while the Tigers made just 17-of-26.

TIP-INS

1. N.C. State leads the all-time series 82-65, but Virginia holds a six-game winning streak.

2. The Cavaliers rank first in the overall KenPom rankings as of Jan. 28.

3. Six different players have led the Wolfpack in scoring this season and five players are averaging in double figures during conference action.

PREDICTION: Virginia 76, North Carolina State 67