Tony Bennett got to see what a packed and raucous John Paul Jones Arena looked like not long after he took the coaching job at Virginia seven years ago, though the crowd had nothing to do with Cavaliers basketball.
At the time, the Charlottesville, Virginia-based Dave Matthews Band was a much hotter ticket.
The arena will be packed again on Saturday, without the band.
Bennett’s third-ranked Cavaliers (21-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) will host No. 7 North Carolina (23-5, 12-3) hoping to stay in the running for their third straight ACC regular season championship. It’s the only scheduled meeting between the longtime rivals this season.