No. 25 North Carolina blows out Virginia in ACC quarterfinals

North Carolina’s Brady Manek outscored Virginia in the first half on the way to 21 points as the No. 25 Tar Heels rolled in a 63-43 victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals Thursday night in New York.

Armando Bacot added 10 points and 11 rebounds for North Carolina, setting the school record for double-doubles in a season with 24. Caleb Love also scored 10 points.

North Carolina (24-8) meets seventh-seeded Virginia Tech, an 87-70 upset winner over second-seeded Notre Dame, in Friday night’s second semifinal.

Jaylen Gardner scored 17 points to pace Virginia (19-13).

After appearing in seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments and winning the 2019 edition, it’s likely Virginia will miss out on this year’s event.

The Cavaliers shot 34.6 percent, including 3-for-11 on 3-pointers. They committed 11 turnovers.

North Carolina led 33-13 at halftime, with Virginia going the last 6:12 without scoring. With 19 points, Manek had more points than the Cavaliers by halftime.

Virginia’s first-half points were the lowest total in a half for any team in the ACC tournament in the shot clock era.

Manek had 11 early points — aided by three 3-point baskets — as the Tar Heels built a 21-11 lead about 11 minutes into the game.

That early run included a bucket from reserve Justin McKoy, a transfer from Virginia. He hadn’t scored since Jan. 24.

When R.J. Davis tipped in his own miss with 5:33 to play in the half, it stretched the lead to 25-13.

Reece Beekman made the only attempted 3-point shot for Virginia across the opening 16 minutes. That was notable because a night earlier the Cavaliers became the first team in history to win an ACC tournament game without connecting on a 3-pointer since the arc was established for the college game.

Entering the season, North Carolina had lost seven straight meetings with Virginia. Coupled with a home win in January, the Tar Heels have won both matchups this season.

–Field Level Media