No rest for slumping UVa

Just after Virginia’s loss to Boston College on Wednesday, sophomore Jeff Jones summed up UVa’s upcoming schedule rather succinctly.

“There are no breaks in this league, man,” Jones said. “Every game is tough. There are no breaks.”

That’s for sure.

This afternoon, Virginia (7-11, 1-6 ACC), mired in a six-game losing streak — the team’s longest slide since the 2002-03 season — travels to Chapel Hill to take on No. 3 North Carolina, a squad that has won six in a row and hammered UVa at John Paul Jones Arena last month.

After UNC (20-2, 6-2), Virginia plays at Florida State, then hosts No. 10 Clemson next Sunday. UVa, which faces the Tigers again on March 3, also has games versus Miami and No. 7 Wake Forest remaining.

Where is the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez when you need them?

Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg said the team isn’t demoralized when it looks at its upcoming games.

“We don’t fear anyone,” Landesberg said. “We’re going to go out there and continue playing, even if we are in a slump. We’re not going to back down. We’re not going to change our game for anyone. We could be playing the Lakers and we’re still going to go out there and play our game.”

Which is?

“Just running,” Landesberg said. “Obviously we run the ball, but we’ve just got to pick up everything else — defense. At times, I think we slow the ball down too much. We’ve got to continue sticking to that running game.”

If Virginia being a running squad is news to you, well, join the club. In its last five games, UVa — which hasn’t really established any kind of identity — has been outscored in fastbreak points, 52-20.

The most interesting aspect of today’s game will be who Virginia coach Dave Leitao puts out on the floor to start the game. Following Wednesday’s loss, Leitao hinted that a few changes to the starting unit could be in order. Since Virginia has trailed by double-digit deficits in each of its last six first halves, that may not be a bad idea.

Against BC, a lineup of Landesberg, Calvin Baker, Jeff Jones, Solomon Tat and Assane Sene — the most passionate players, according to Leitao — played almost the entire second half. It doesn’t seem out of the realm that Leitao will keep that unit intact, although one has to wonder how Tat or Sene would fair against UNC All-American Tyler Hansbrough.

“Who knows,” said Jones, when asked about who might be in the starting lineup. “We’re just going to go out there and whoever he puts out there, hopefully be ready.”

Added Landesberg: “I’m not really sure [if it would make a difference]. It may. It may not. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Against BC, Virginia used a 3-2 zone to moderate success, holding the Eagles to just 36-percent shooting in the second half. However, the Tar Heels have many more offensive weapons, including Hansbrough, who got to the free-throw line 17 times in the Jan. 15 meeting, a JPJ record.

Dunks

UNC leads the all-time series, 123-48. Virginia hasn’t won in Chapel Hill since the 2001-02 season when it beat UNC, 71-67. … UNC is coming off a 108-91 win over Maryland on Tuesday. … Hansbrough leads the ACC in scoring (22.4 ppg).