By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Every time he takes the court for the University of Virginia men’s basketball team, guard Isaac McKneely draws the opponent’s best perimeter defender. Easy baskets are a rarity for the 6-foot-4 junior. McKneely has to earn his points, and he continues to do so for a team that needs everything he can contribute offensively.

“When he doesn’t play well, we struggle, so it’s important,” interim head coach Ron Sanchez said, “and he’s done a really good job of carrying that load.”

For the season, McKneely leads UVA in scoring (13.9 ppg), and he’s shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point range.

Against ACC rival North Carolina, McKneely scored a game-high 17 points Saturday. That wasn’t enough to lift the Cavaliers to a fourth straight road win. UNC bolted to a 21-2 lead and went on to win 81-66. But McKneely’s final basket, which came on a slick left-handed layup, put him over the 1,000-point mark for his career.

In 93 games as a Cavalier, No. 11 has 1,001 career points.

“First of all, I’m thrilled for iMac,” Sanchez said. “That’s a great landmark as an athlete to break.”

Asked about his feat, McKneely said, “I’m super thankful. It’s not an individual award, in my opinion, it’s a team award, because without their screens, without their passes in the pocket, whatever it is, I wouldn’t have any points at all. So I’m super thankful for that accomplishment. But it was a loss, so it doesn’t matter too much.”

Mr. 1⃣,0⃣0⃣0⃣#GoHoos x @IsaacMcKneely pic.twitter.com/acy7gTrUbi

— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) February 22, 2025

Virginia (13-14 overall, 6-10 ACC) was coming off a game in which its opponent, third-ranked Duke, built a sizable first-half lead. The same thing happened against North Carolina (17-11, 10-6), but the Cavaliers looked even more out of sync early at the Dean E. Smith Center than they had at John Paul Jones Arena.

“I know we missed a couple of bunnies, a couple of layups, a couple of dunks,” Sanchez said. “Early on, those things are a bit deflating. But at the same time, it was the proper way to play. We got the kind of shots that we wanted. We just didn’t convert them.”

With the home fans in the crowd of 21,750 roaring in delight, the Tar Heels hit 8 of their first 12 shots and the Wahoos missed 9 of their first 10.

“I think we were kind of shell-shocked in the beginning,” McKneely said.

McKneely’s jumper at the 11:10 mark of the first half made it 21-4. From that point, shots began falling regularly for the Hoos, but it was too late against a UNC team that was 6 for 8 from 3-point range in the first half.

“When you dig a hole that deep, you’re going to be climbing uphill the entire game,” Sanchez said, “especially against a team that plays with that pace offensively and in transition.”

The game was the Hoos’ first at the Dean Dome since the 2022-23 season. From the players on that UVA team, only McKneely and senior Taine Murray are still on the roster.

“We know how it is,” McKneely said. “We know the electricity that gets going in here. But it’s hard to come back from 21-2, especially the way we play. I think we played them pretty evenly after that, but we can’t get a hole like that and expect to win, especially on the road.”

Over the final 31 minutes, Virginia scored 62 points, to 60 for UNC. “But we just can’t start like that,” said junior forward Elijah Saunders, a transfer from San Diego State.

Unlike in years past, the Cavaliers do not have a defense capable of carrying them in games when their offense starts so slowly. UVA cuts its deficit to seven late in the first half, only to give up a three-point play on Carolina’s next possession. The Heels went into the break leading 46-34 after outrebounding the Hoos 17-5 and recording 11 second-chance points, to zero for the visitors.