GREENSBORO, NC – North Carolina turned a three-point deficit at halftime into an 81-73 victory over Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. The Hokies came out with excessive physicality that put the Tar Heels numb early on, and they held two offensive rebounds and led eight times in the first half.
Armando Bacot, who was affected by Tech’s physicality in the first half, came out with increased aggression in the last 20 minutes. He scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half and grabbed five offensive rebounds. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting with 13 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double and third in the last four games.
The other part of Tech’s defense plan was to shut down Kerwin Walton on the perimeter. The only open look he could find was in transition. At halftime, UNC could not open him up for an easy look. This opened the door for RJ Davis and the first-year guard took full advantage. He scored a season-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four made-up three-pointers, which is also a season-high.
The sequence that caused UNC to pull away was a deep three-pointer, followed by a steal by Davis of Tech’s Hunter Cattoor, followed by the conversion of a three-point game. That put the Tar Heels ahead 56-49 with 9:46 left. Davis’ last shot outside the arc gave UNC an 11-point lead with 1:08 left.
UN Williams head coach Roy Williams surpassed Bob Knight on the all-time winning list (903). Read and watch everything the Hall of Fame head coach had to say to media members after the victory: