No. 14 UNC dominates No. 11 Virginia Tech in opening round game of ACC tournament
Roy Williams knows that if his team is going to get into the NCAA tournament, then it has to do something no other ACC team has done before.
Win five games in five days in its conference tournament.
Looking at it from that perspective can be daunting. So the Tar Heels are taking it one game at a time.
So far, so good.
No. 14-seeded UNC (14-18) beat No. 11-seeded Virginia Tech in the first round of the ACC tournament 78-56, in front of a pro-UNC crowd at Greensboro Coliseum.
The Tar Heels used their size advantage to dominate the Hokies on the offensive glass, and in the paint.
UNC junior forward Garrison Brooks, who has scored 20 points in each of the last seven games, could not be stopped in the post. He finished with 20 points and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
Senior guard Brandon Robinson caught fire from 3 in the second half and finished with 17 points. He was 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
With the win, the Tar Heels advance to the second round to face No. 6 Syracuse at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The Tar Heels are now 20-7 in opening-round games when the ACC tournament is in Greensboro, where they have won eight ACC championships.
Winning this one will be a lot tougher. No one has won five games in five days since the ACC expanded to 15 teams in 2014. But the Tar Heels got one out the way Tuesday night.
Virginia Tech and UNC met each other one other time this season, on Jan. 22 in Blacksburg, Virginia. It ended in a 79-77 double overtime win for the Hokies — one that saw three Tar Heel players play 47 minutes or more.
Neither Robinson nor freshman guard Cole Anthony played in the first game. And both were crucial in Tuesday’s win.
Robinson’s back-to-back 3-pointers with 7 minutes left in the second half put the Tar Heels up by 20 and iced the game.
Anthony finished with 10 points.
While the game was close in the first half, it was never really in doubt for the Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels led the Hokies 32-26 at halftime.
Virginia Tech missed its first seven shots of the second half and allowed UNC to push its lead to 13 points. Anthony’s “and-1” layup gave the Tar Heels a 39-26 lead with 16:36 left.
After that, the Hokies never got within 10 points. Virginia Tech star freshman Landers Nolley II finished with 10 points on 4 of 11 shooting.
And-1
The Tar Heels were dominant on the offensive glass, especially in the second half. They had seven offensive rebounds in the second half, 13 overall. They finished with 15 second-chance points.
Personal foul
The Tar Heels allowed a number of open 3-pointers in the first half. They were fortunate that the Hokies did not make them. It was the Tar Heels’ day. Virginia Tech finished 10 of 36 from 3.
In case you missed it
Graduate senior Christian Keeling went down late in the first half with a left ankle injury. He tried to walk off, but could not put much pressure on it. He did, however, returned later in the second half.
Keeling had been one of the Tar Heels best scorers during the last stretch of the season. He was averaging just above 11 points per game in his last 10 games.
Making sense of the numbers
4 The number of games the Tar Heels must win to get into the NCAA tournament. One down, four more to go.
11 The number of double-doubles for Armando Bacot this season. He finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
