Thursday night, Virginia’s poor shooting made dubious history in Brooklyn. Carolina wasn’t quite that bad Friday night against Virginia Tech, but still fell woefully short of the Hokies in a 72-59 loss in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
Final.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/F4uNV5jrbT
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 12, 2022
“You really have to congratulate Virginia Tech,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “They played extremely well tonight, and they were the better team tonight.”
Carolina’s offense was ice-cold all night. Graduate forward Brady Manek, who scored 21 points in the quarterfinal win over Virginia, was held to just 10 points on 4-10 shooting against the Hokies. He did not make a single three-pointer for the first time since December 11.
Despite all those struggles, Carolina hung tough with the Hokies through the first half, holding brief leads midway through the period. UNC took a 19-18 advantage on a deep shot from Caleb Love, but it was the last time Carolina would hold the lead all night. Virginia Tech closed the half on a 14-7 run, capped off by a three from second team All-ACC forward Keve Aluma to make the Hokie lead 32-26 at halftime.
“I felt like in the first half, everything was difficult. Everything was hard,” Davis said. “And we were all very encouraged about starting the second half and trying to change things around. And it just didn’t happen.”
Virginia Tech carried its positive momentum into the second half, opening on a 9-0 run to expand its lead to 41-26. What was once a competitive game was teetering on the edge of a blowout. The game would fully commit to that act just a few minutes later, as another three from the Hokies made the lead 20 points at 54-34. Virginia Tech, who came into the night shooting 38.9 percent from downtown (fourth-best in the country), ended 9-20 from deep against the Tar Heels.
“With their small lineup, there was always an opportunity where there was one of our bigs guarding their guards,” Davis said. “Those are things that [we] don’t necessarily do very much.”
Carolina cut the lead down to 11 points with a 9-0 run of its own, but Virginia Tech answered with authority, getting a basket from star forward Justyn Mutts and then a three-pointer, plus the foul, from Darius Maddox. Maddox, who hit a buzzer-beater to win Virginia Tech’s opening tournament game against Clemson, finished with 20 points on 7-12 shooting off the bench.
Carolina’s own star forward, Armando Bacot, was about the only bright spot for the Tar Heels all night. Bacot extended his own school record with his 25th double-double of the season, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds before fouling out late. Bacot shot 9-10 from the floor. The rest of his teammates combined to shoot at a 13-50 clip.
Missed three-pointers defined the night for the Tar Heels. As a team, they shot 3-26 from behind the arc. Love made two, but also missed another eight.
“Particularly in the first half, I felt like we got some good looks from three,” Davis said. “We just missed them. And then in the second half, I felt a lot of our threes were contested and were forced.”
This is the second straight season Carolina has lost in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Virginia Tech will take on Duke Saturday night in pursuit of its first-ever ACC Tournament title. The Tar Heels, now 24-9 and firmly in the NCAA Tournament field, will wait until Selection Sunday to know its opponent and destination in the Big Dance.
“One of the things I said after the game is, I don’t want them to be discouraged, I want them to be encouraged,” Davis said. “I told them I remember that bus ride coming back from Wake Forest, and to think from that point, that this group, led by Armando, we’ve won 12 out of 15… I’m very proud to be their coach.”
“We’ve done a good job all year just responding to adversity,” said Bacot. “We’re all confident in ourselves. We’re just moving on to the next step, and we’re just ready for the tournament. We’ll come prepared.”
Featured image via Todd Melet. For a photo gallery of the game, click here.
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