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The Virginia Cavaliers survived a scare against a very good Miami Hurricanes squad with an 89-80 victory in overtime away from home, but return to John Paul Jones Arena to face the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The Cavaliers play the Wolfpack on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
North Carolina State has shown flashes of being a 2015 NCAA tournament team, but have bad losses to Wofford and Purdue to mar their resume. This young team needs some type of major win in order to boost their confidence down the stretch, because their conference schedule is far more difficult than their non-conference schedule.
That being said, NC State will not stand a chance against Virginia. The transfer from Alabama, Trevor Lacey, has been outstanding this season, averaging more than 17 points per game. However, UVA’s defense should smother most of this team and limit them to three point shots.
Virginia boasts the second best defense in college basketball when it comes to the number of points allowed per game, which is complemented by their extremely efficient offense. The Cavaliers, who should be able to challenge the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils for dominance in the ACC, will only come into this game more focused after their scare against Miami.
If NC State are to pull off the upset, they would need Anthony Gill and Malcolm Brogden to have off nights, while Lacey and Ralston Turner play the best games of their careers. Don’t expect this to happen; Virginia should easily win.
Prediction: Virginia 72, NC State 58
Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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