Virginia vs. North Carolina ACC Tournament odds, bracketology: Armando Bacot expected to play for bubble-riding Tar Heels

Earlier Thursday, the team taking the biggest spread lean in any college basketball conference tournament matchup was Virginia against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, which pushed the Cavaliers from -1 to -2.5 at BetMGM. A big reason for all that action may have been the uncertain status of Tar Heels All-American big man Armando Bacot after he was hurt Wednesday. Bacot is now expected to suit up, as UNC likely needs at least one more win for its NCAA Tournament hopes.

North Carolina would have had no shot at an at-large bid had it lost to Boston College on Wednesday, but UNC blew out the Eagles 85-61. The Tar Heels shot 54.8% from the floor, including 60% in the second half. They made 10 of 24 3-pointers (41.7%) to improve to 10-0 this season when shooting 35% or higher from downtown.

The 85 points were UNC's most since beating Clemson, 91-71, on Feb. 11. The Tar Heels are 12-2 when scoring 80 or more. They surely aren't approaching 80 against Virginia, which again is one of the country's top defensive teams, allowing just 60.5 points per game.

Bacot went down late in the first half with a left ankle injury, and it certainly didn't look good. Reportedly, his parents were called out of the stands to join the Bacot in the locker room, which generally isn't a great sign. However, he started in the second half and finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. In doing so, he joined College Basketball Hall of Famer Sam Perkins as the only Tar Heels with 1,800 points, 1,000 rebounds and 150 blocks.

"I just took a wrong step and I rolled it a little bit, but I'm (gonna) be fine," Bacot said to ESPN after the game. "I mean, it was a must win. I didn't want to leave it out there with them to have a chance to come back, so I told the coaches, I told Doug (Halverson), I told Jonas (Sahratian), I'd give them a good four-to-six minutes to just give us a bump. We ended up coming out and getting a good enough lead to where I could sit out (the rest of the game)."

Officially, Bacot is a game-time call tonight but every report is that he will play. Coach Hubert Davis said last night he has never seen anyone come back from ankle injuries like Bacot can. That UVA plays a much slower, more half-court game could help Bacot.

The Tar Heels are now 43-20 in Greensboro in the ACC Tournament. CBS Sports' Jerry Palm still has them among his "First Four Out" for the Big Dance, but one of the schools he had among his "Last Four In," Michigan, had a bad loss vs. Rutgers earlier today so a spot might now be open.

Carolina has just one Quad 1 win this season, and that came on Feb. 25 in a 71-63 victory against Virginia. The Cavaliers are currently 30th in the NCAA NET Rankings. If UNC wins tonight, Virginia should will drop at least a spot and then a potential Quad 1 victory would become a Quad 2. The second-seeded Cavs got a bye into the ACC quarterfinals as co-regular-season champions with Miami. 

So which 2023 Fantasy baseball busts, breakouts, and sleepers should you target or fade in your drafts? Visit SportsLine's Fantasy baseball cheat sheets now to get rankings for every single position, all from the model that called Joey Votto's disappointing season, and find out.