North Carolina vs. Virginia for the ACC title

The No. 1-seed Virginia Cavaliers will battle the No. 6 North Carolina Tar Heels in the championship game of the 2018 ACC Tournament on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Virginia is ranked No. 1 in the country heading into Saturday’s tournament final, with an inside track at a top seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament. In the ACC Tournament the Cavaliers beat Louisville in the quarterfinals then dispatched Clemson on Friday night in the semifinals.

Sophomore guard Kyle Guy led the Cavaliers in scoring in both ACC Tournament games, averaging 17 points and six rebounds while draining 7-of-13 (.538) from three-point range.

Luke Maye had 17 points and 12 boards on Friday against Duke, when North Carolina held a 16-point lead with five minutes remaining, only to see the Blue Devils claw back with a 13-0 run. Duke got close but no closer than within three points, giving the Tar Heels their second straight win over a better-seeded team.

Virginia beat North Carolina in their only regular season meeting, beating the Tar Heels 61-49 on Jan. 6 in Charlottesville.

ACC Tournament championship game time, TV and streaming info

• Teams: No. 1 Virginia vs. No.
• Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
• TV: ESPN
• Streaming: Watch ESPN

TEAM vs. Virginia news & notes

The ACC Tournament will be held in Charlotte in 2019 then in Greensboro in 2020, but eyes a return to New York after a successful two-year stint at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2017-18, per the Associated Press:

“Understand that (New York) is an important part of that footprint. It being the media capital of the world and 8 million people here, and a large number of alums from each of our institutions and a lot of players that are potential recruits in our league,” Swofford said. “And it’s given us some business opportunities and connections we might well not have had.”

Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett was named the Henry Iba Award winner as national coach of the year for a third time. Only legendary UCLA coach John Wooden won more Iba Awards with six. Streaking the Lawn noted how Bennett is cashing in for this season:

Under Bennett’s contract, he is set to receive a $50,000 bonus for earning the ACC Coach of the Year honors. If Virginia finishes in the final AP or Coaches poll in the Top 10, he’ll receive an additional $75,000. The AP will release their final poll this week, as they don’t release a post-tournament poll, so it’s expected that Bennett will achieve this bonus.