NEW YORK — There was no hangover for No. 25 North Carolina in the Big Apple after last weekend's emotional victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The third-seeded Tar Heels opened the ACC tournament game on Thursday with a convincing 63-43 loss against No. 6 seeded Virginia in a quarterfinal nightcap.
UNC (24-8) opened a tie game with 26-4 runs in a 13-minute, 21-second stretch that effectively sealed the win at halftime. Carolina took a 24 point lead in the second half. That's why the Tar Heels are struggling to find much of their momentum aggressively shooting below 40% for only the sixth time this season. Virginia's 43 points are the fewest UNCs that have allowed an opponent to score in an ACC tournament game in the shot clock era.
Brady Manek led all scorers on 8-of-15 shooting (3-of-7 3FG) with 21 points and seven rebounds. Caleb Love added 10 points and five assists. UNC is 14-0 this season when Love has five or more assists.
Armando Bacot scored 10 points and scored 11 rebounds, setting UNC's single-season school record with 24 double-doubles. Bryce Johnson set the previous record in 2015-16 with 23 double-doubles sets.
The Tar Heels shot 38.5% from the floor, keeping Virginia at 34.6%. UNC scored 13 points from 11 Virginia turnovers and took a 14-2 lead in second-chance points.
UNC improved to 48–13 in the ACC quarterfinals and is now 14–8 as a 3-seed in the conference tournament.
Handle success
Hubert Davies has praised his team's ability to bounce back from adversity and disappointment over the course of the year, although one area where the first-year head coach has expressed concern lies in his team's ability to handle success. UNC's win over Duke at Cameroon Indoor Stadium on Saturday was undoubtedly the program's biggest win in years, setting up the prospect of a slow start to the season after.
The Tar Heels answered that question from the opening end, playing with energy at both ends of the floor. While the shots didn't drop quickly, UNC was getting quality form, and once Manek's first 3-pointer fell with 14:10 on the clock, Davis's squad was off and running. It's hard to play a beautiful brand of basketball against Tony Bennett's style of ball, though UNC checked that box on Thursday.
First half defense
Virginia struggled to find consistent scoring options throughout the regular season and those offensive deficiencies continued into the postseason as UNC prevented easy looks and worked their opponent to every basket. This was especially true in the first half as the Tar Heels put the Cavaliers on 13 points, the lowest points in the first half of an ACC tournament game - ever (in the shot clock era). On December 8, 2012, UNC had the lowest number of points allowed in the half since placing East Tennessee State on 12 points in the first half.
The Cavaliers shot 18.5 per cent and had six turnovers in the first half, scoring 0.41 points per possession. Virginia scored two field goals in the last 13 minutes of the half.
Manek erpts
Brady Manek made his postseason debut in the same way that he closed out his regular season. The Oklahoma transfer earned ACC Player of the Week honors before arriving in Brooklyn, where he single-handedly piloted UNC's en route to Virginia.
Manek scored in a variety of ways, including an up-and-under layup, a midrange jumper, a dunk from an inbound play and a trio of 3-pointers. By halftime he had led Virginia 19–13, the first time a tar heel had outscored an opponent in the half, as Reggie Bullock scored 21 points in Maryland's 20 on January 19, 2013.
In UNC's last 12 games, Manek has averaged 17.6 points on 51.3% shooting, including 43.4% from the 3-point line. Not only has the fifth-year senior emerged as a frequent offense threat, but his improvement on the defensive end has countered opponents' attempts to attack him.
Next
UNC will play approximately 7th seed Virginia Tech in the semifinals. 9:30 pm. on Friday. The Hokies beat No. 2 seed Notre Dame 87-80 on Thursday. The Tar Heels entered the regular season series with Virginia Tech.