UNC heads to ACC tournament semifinals with big win over Virginia Tech
North Carolina’s freshmen got a good indoctrination into the postseason against Virginia Tech in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. And the Tar Heels showed they have matured in a way coach Roy Williams has been waiting to see.
The Heels’ 81-73 win advanced them to face No. 2 seed Florida State in the semifinals Friday at 9 p.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum. UNC and FSU split their regular-season meetings with each winning at home.
The Heels showed they had a level of toughness they hadn’t had to tap into since arguably their 67-65 win at Miami on Jan 5. They had comebacks before, most notably their rally from down 16 against Florida State. Like that win, the Heels actually trailed the Hokies longer than they played with a lead.
“This was a tougher test on something like that and I thought we handled it pretty doggone well,” said Williams, who surpassed Bobby Knight to become the third winningest coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history with 903 career wins.
The Hokies had a veteran rotation that doesn’t rely on freshmen to log a lot of minutes. So even coming off a pause for COVID-19 contact tracing that meant they hadn’t played a game since Feb. 27, they were the aggressors from the start.
Carolina fell behind 11-3 early, which was essentially a message from VT that Thursday wasn’t going to be the glorified practice session the Heels 101-59 win over Notre Dame was in the second round.
“They hit us in the mouth pretty hard in the first half,” said UNC junior forward Leaky Black, who scored all eight of his points in the second half.
VT (15-6) limited the nation’s No. 1 offensive rebounding team to just two offensive boards in the first half, which led to UNC only having two second chance points. And although it wasn’t exactly a slow burn type of pace, the Hokies managed to keep the tempo dialed down enough to their liking.
Carolina wouldn’t let things stay that way. It got 13 offensive rebounds and scored 13 second chance points in the second half. Sophomore forward Armando Bacot had five of those boards which led to two of his put backs.
“At halftime, we talked about we had to make an extra effort to get off their box outs and make an extra effort to get to the offensive boards and Armando did that better than anybody.,” Williams said. “...What I hope is we’re going to keep coming and keep coming and keep coming and hopefully through the course of a 40 minute game it’ll be big for us.”
Bacot, who scored 17 points with 13 rebounds and four blocks, was big in the second half, thanks to Williams’ needling. The word “soft” was being used to describe his play and that’s the one word Bacot responds best to hearing.
He scored 13 points with nine rebounds and three blocked shots all after halftime. His presence helped make up for senior forward Garrison Brooks, who played but was still hobbled by the left ankle injury that kept him out of Wednesday’s win over the Irish.
“Coach, he knows how to get under my skin,” Bacot said. “I’d probably say he goes the hardest on me on the team. It’s definitely motivating. I mean, I get annoyed and kind of pissed off, but I want to go out there and win so it’s all good.”
UNC freshman guard R.J. Davis had a strong second half without being directly challenged by Williams. Davis scored 14 of his career-high 19 points in the second half. His play on consecutive possessions midway through the second half helped Carolina gain some separation with a 56-49 lead after going back-and-forth with the Hokies through the start of the second half.
Davis made a 3-pointer, then stole the ball from Hunter Cattoor and made a layup and completed three-point play.
“I kept telling myself and my teammates all we need is one stop,” Davis said. “And then once I saw his back turned to me, I reached in and stole the ball and got the and-1. I think that changed the momentum of the game and I think that was a key for us to win the game.
Hokies guard Nahiem Alleyne made a 3-pointer to cut a 10-point lead down to 72-67 with 1:39 left. But Black made his second 3-pointer of the game from the right corner and Davis punctuated the Heels win with his fourth and final 3 of the game.
Armed with a 78-67 lead, UNC would not let the Hokies get close again. The win gave Carolina another boost of confidence for a team that believes it’s beginning to reach its potential.
“COVID and that whole nonsense, it’s been hard to really get the ball rolling,” Black said. “And I feel like these last few weeks, honestly, the chemistry is as -- we can just feel it like the last time we played Florida State, big games like that. You can just see the potential, and I feel like we’re all starting to believe.”
Here are updates from earlier in the game:
RJ Davis sparks Heels run
Carolina wrestled its biggest lead of the game thanks to the play of guard R.J. Davis. With UNC leading 50-49, Davis made his second 3-pointer then stole the ball from VT guard Hunter Cattoor. Davis made a layup and was fouled -- then was lucky he didn’t get a technical foul for his celebration flex in the face of Cattoor. Davis completed a three-point play for a 56-49 advantage during a half where the teams have exchanged leads five times.
UNC scored on consecutive possessions thanks to its offensive rebounding, which the Hokies have kept in check for most of the game, to take a 60-51 lead and force VT coach Mike Young to take a time out.
Hokies lead at halftime
Virginia Tech shot 47 percent from the floor in the first half and lead UNC 35-32 at halftime.
Carolina hurt itself with eight turnovers -- five of which came on entry passes to the post and another on a Leaky Black lob that was too high for center Walker Kessler.
The Heels have gotten balanced with its scoring, only two of the 10 players used in the first half have not scored. Forward Day’Ron Sharpe leads UNC with eight points, Caleb Love, R.J. Davis and Kerwin Walton each scored five.
The Hokies were led by Tyrece Radford and Justyn Mutts, who scored 14 points each.
Heels shake off slow start
Carolina reeled off an 11-2 spurt and now own a 21-20 lead with 7:27 left in the first half.
Virginia Tech started the game with a level of physical play that seemed to catch the Tar Heels off guard. The Hokies haven’t allowed them to dominate the paint like it did against Notre Dame. UNC only has one offensive rebound so far.
That hasn’t mattered as much since the Heels have been able to get out in transition. Two of their made three-pointers have come on the break and they have outscored VT 10-2 in fast-break points.
Starting lineups
North Carolina senior forward Garrison Brooks is returning to the starting lineup after sitting out Tuesday’s second-round win over Notre Dame with a left ankle injury. Caleb Love, Kerwin Walton, Leaky Black and Armando Bacot are the other four starters.
Virginia Tech starters are Wabissa Bede, Tyrece Radford, Nahiem Alleyne, Justyn Mutts and Keve Aluma.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 7:30 PM.