GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina turned a three-point halftime deficit into an 81-73 victory over Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. The Hokies came out with extreme physicality that seemed to stun the Tar Heels early, holding them to two offensive rebounds and leading to eight first half turnovers.
Armando Bacot, who was affected by Tech’s physicality in the first half, came out in the final 20 minutes with a heightened aggressiveness. 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 defensive plan was closing out on Kerwin Walton on the perimeter. The only open looks he could find were in transition. In the half court, UNC could not find him open for an easy look. That opened the door for R.J. Davis and the freshman point guard took full advantage. He posted a season-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four made three-pointers, which is also a season-high.
The sequence that allowed UNC to pull away was a deep three-pointer, followed by a steal by Davis of Tech’s Hunter Cattoor, and then the conversion of a three-point play. That gave the Tar Heels a 56-49 lead with 9:46 remaining. Davis’s final made shot beyond the arc gave UNC an 11-point lead with 1:08 remaining.
UNC head coach Roy Williams passed Bob Knight on the all-time wins list (903). Read and watch everything the Hall of Fame head coach had to say to media members following the win:
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