The North Carolina Tar Heels have three games left in the 2025-26 ACC basketball regular season. For the Tar Heels, they have a very good schedule quirk as they wont leave the state of North Carolina until the NCAA Tournament.
That stretch includes Saturday night at home against Virginia Tech.
The Tar Heels are trying to make it three-straight wins after beating Syracuse last Saturday and then Louisville at home on Monday. With three games left, North Carolina still has a chance at getting a double bye in the ACC Tournament. They enter this game No. 5 in the conference standings, tied with NC State at 10-5. The Wolfpack have the tiebreaker due to the lone matchup this season.
For Virginia Tech, they are 7-8 in conference play and 18-10 overall. They are 11th in the ACC and one of the “next four out” in terms of the NCAA Tournament. The Hokies need a win desparately otherwise they would need to win the ACC Tournament.
So this is a huge game for both teams. Let’s get into our preview for the upcoming matchup in Chapel Hill.
Something to watch
Guard play. Seth Trimble put together a career night in the win over Louisville on Monday but you can’t count on that happening every game. North Carolina simply needs more from their guards, including Derek Dixon and Kyan Evans down the stretch.
This game is a good one for those two to step up. With Trimble, he’s going to give you significant minutes and will be a key cog in the Tar Heels’ chances for a deep March run. But he’s going to need some help.
Key to Victory
Defense. We saw against Louisville how the Tar Heels locked in defensively in that second half, going on a big run to grab the lead. While they did have a 16-point lead go down to just two, overall they were good defensively in that game.
Now, they need to carry that over against Virginia Tech. A good defensive performance will be huge for this team as that’s what it takes to win in March. With Henri Veesaar back and Trimble playing at a high level, UNC needs to click defensively to get rolling.
Statistical leaders
Points
UNC: Caleb Wilson (19.8)
Virginia Tech: Amani Hansberry (14.7)
Rebounds
UNC: Caleb Wilson (9.4)
Virginia Tech: Amani Hansberry (7.7)
Assists
UNC: Kyan Evans (2.8)
Virginia Tech: Neoklis Avdalas (4.9)
What you need to know
WHAT? Virginia Tech Hokies (18-10, 7-8 in ACC) AT North Carolina Tar Heels (21-6, 8-5 ACC)
WHEN? Saturday, Feb. 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET
WHERE? Dean Smith Center (21,750) in Chapel Hill
TV? ESPN2
RADIO?SiriusXM (Channel 193)
LINE? UNC -8.5
LAST MEETING? North Carolina 91, Virginia Tech 59 on March 4, 2025
ALL-TIME SERIES: North Carolina leads all-time series 38-10
2025-26 UNC Basketball Schedule
October 4: Blue-White Scrimmage (White 55, Blue 50)
Oct. 24: at BYU (preseason, L 78-76)
Oct. 29: vs. Winston-Salem State (preseason, W 95-53)
Nov. 3: vs. Central Arkansas (W, 94-54)
Nov. 7: vs. Kansas (W, 87-74)
Nov. 11: vs. Radford (W, 89-74)
Nov. 14: vs. NC Central (W, 97-53)
Nov. 18: vs. Navy (W, 73-61)
Nov. 25: vs. St. Bonaventure in Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off (W, 85-70)
Nov. 27: vs. Michigan State in Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off (L, 74-58)
December 2: at Kentucky (W, 67-64)
Dec. 7: vs. Georgetown (W, 81-61)
Dec. 13: vs. USC Upstate (W, 80-62)
Dec. 16: vs. ETSU (W, 77-58)
Dec. 20: vs. Ohio State in CBS Sports Classic (W, 71-70)
Dec. 22: vs. East Carolina (W, 99-51)
Dec. 30: vs. Florida State (W 79-66)
January 3, 2026: at SMU (L 97-83)
Jan. 10, 2026: vs. Wake Forest (W 87-84)
Jan. 14, 2026: at Stanford (L 95-90)
Jan. 17, 2026: at California (L 84-78)
Jan. 21, 2026: vs. Notre Dame (W 90-69)
Jan. 24, 2026: at Virginia (W 85-80)
Jan. 31, 2026: at Georgia Tech (W 91-75.)
Feb. 2, 2026: vs. Syracuse (87-77)
Feb. 7, 2026: vs. Duke (W 71-68)
Feb. 10, 2026: at Miami (FL) (L 75-66)
Feb. 14, 2026: vs. Pitt (W 79-65)
Feb. 17, 2026: at NC State (L 82-58)
Feb. 21, 2026: at Syracuse (W 77-64)
Feb. 23, 2026: vs. Louisville (W, 77-74)
Feb. 28, 2026: vs. Virginia Tech (TBA)
March 3, 2026: vs. Clemson (7 p.m.)
March 7, 2026: at Duke (6:30 p.m.)
March 10-14, 2026: ACC Tournament in Spectrum Center (Charlotte, N.C.)
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball vs. Virginia Tech: Game preview, info, prediction and more
