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No. 5 Virginia wins slugfest against No. 7 North Carolina, 56-47

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: NOV 23 Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament - Virginia v Umass

UNCASVILLE, CT - NOVEMBER 23: Virginia Cavaliers forward Mamadi Diakite (25) during a time-out during the college basketball game between Virginia Cavaliers and UMass Minutemen on November 23, 2019, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Mamadi Diakite scored 12 points and Tomas Woldetensae and Francis Caffaro combined for 21 points off the bench as No. 5 Virginia rebounded from a mid-week embarrassment to hand No. 7 North Carolina their second straight loss, 56-47.

This was hardly a pretty basketball game. The two teams combined to shoot 34.7 percent from the floor. Both turned the ball over on more than 20 percent of their possessions. The score at halftime was 24-18, and while the scoring kicked up a notch in the second, it was hardly a vintage North Carolina performance.

In fact, it’s the second straight game that the Tar Heels failed to crack 50 points - they lost 74-49 at home against Ohio State on Wednesday night - and further highlighted the issues they have on the offensive end of the floor.

The truth is that neither of these teams are all that good right now. Both are still reeling from a massive talent departure during the offseason, and with Duke still working through some things as well, it looks like this is going to be Louisville’s ACC title to win.

I will say this: I do think that both teams do have access to a ceiling.

The Tar Heels are a young team built around the exploits of a pair of freshmen (Cole Anthony and Armando Bacot) and they just played the two best defensive teams in the country, according to KenPom. Things were never going to look pretty for them in these two games.

And for Virginia, the answer is going to be finding some shot-makers on their perimeter. Part of that will be the return of Braxton Key. Part of it will be hoping that this 3-for-4 shooting performance from three is the start of Woldetensae busting out of his funk. And part of it will be getting the best out of Casey Morsell, who has shown some flashes but has played like a freshman.

I’m not ready to write either team off, not in a year where no one is all that good, but I am ready to say neither UNC nor UVA are anywhere near top ten teams as of today.