Heels bounce back with solid effort against Virginia

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Zeller had 25 points and No. 5 North Carolina got a bounce-back, 70-52 win over 19th-ranked Virginia on Saturday.

The Tar Heels (21-4, 8-2 ACC) pulled away in the second half, wiping away the taste of Wednesday's last-second loss to Austin Rivers and Duke, which snapped their 31-game home winning streak.

Zeller added nine rebounds to lead North Carolina against Virginia, while Harrison Barnes scored 14 points with 11 boards. John Henson also posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Mike Scott led Virginia (19-5, 6-4) with 18 points and Jontel Evans had 12.

Reggie Bullock scored all five of his points during a 12-2 North Carolina run in the second half, which gave the Tar Heels a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

Zeller had four points during the spurt, but Bullock led the way, knocking down a three that made it a 13-point game. Moments later, Kendall Marshall's jumper gave North Carolina a 61-46 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left and the Cavaliers were never within single digits afterward.

Earlier, though, it was a different story.

Virginia missed its first five shots of the game, but made its next seven to take a 16-9 lead. Scott hit back-to-back jumpers after two straight Tar Heels turnovers, capping a 9-0 run and forcing North Carolina to call a timeout.

The Tar Heels then scored the next nine points, holding Virginia scoreless for around five minutes while they took an 18-16 lead. Zeller's 14 points in the first half helped North Carolina lead 35-32 at the break. Scott and Evans had 10 points apiece for the Cavaliers in the first half.

Game Notes

North Carolina has won seven of its last eight games against Virginia and leads the all-time series 126-49, including a 64-6 mark in Chapel Hill (22-3 at Smith Center). The teams will meet again on February 25 at Virginia.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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