No. 6 North Carolina (17-9, 10-6 ACC) vs. No. 3 Virginia Tech (15-5, 9-4 ACC)
Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
Thursday, March 11, 9 pm ET
ACCN (Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas)
Quotable
“I feel better when I enter our league tournament, having the opportunity to continue training. It’s March and the kids want to play. I don’t think we’ve played in 10 days, whoever we play on Thursday, we’re looking forward to it. “- Va. Tech head coach, Mike Young
“It’s weird because I haven’t seen them as much as I have seen some of the other teams in our league, and it’s because we never faced them … They are a little bit mysterious. I saw them play some, but not as much as I did with the other teams “They will be even more rested than we are, and we understand that. Michael does a great job. I saw their game against Virginia and they were out of the ordinary in that game.” UNC head coach Roy Williams , by Virginia Tech
Pre-match notes
A perfect start: With Garrison Brooks sidelined with an ankle injury, the trio of big shots from UNC – Armando Bacot, Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler – filled the void without a problem. They combined 50 points on 21 of 31 shots, 35 rebounds and 10 blocks. Tar Heels won, 101-59, driven by a series of 47-4 in the second half. Kessler set a freshman record in the eight-block ACC tournament. UNC became the first team to score 100 points in regulation during an ACC Tournament game since 1999.
Two games, 33 days: The Hokies played two games in 33 days due to COVID-19. On February 23, they lost to Georgia Tech 69-53. On February 27, they beat Wake Forest, 84-46. Before those two games, Tech hadn’t played since February 6 in Miami. He hasn’t played since winning the Demon Deacons, making this a 12-day break for Mike Young’s team. Six of his nine conference victories were against the lower third of the ACC (2x Wake Forest, 2x Miami, 2x Notre Dame).
All-ACC Aluma: Wofford transferee Keve Aluma was named the second All-ACC team on Monday. The 6-foot-9 striker averages 15.9 points and 8.0 rebounds with 50 percent pitches. He averages 22 points, with 11 trios made (11 out of 22) in the last five games. Aluma uses its size and athleticism to attack by the wing, but it also has the touch of a sniper. He won 277 votes on the All-ACC and was four years from reaching the first team. If Virginia Tech played more games, Aluma would almost certainly have been named one of the top five players at the conference.
Efficient Radford: He lost four games, but second-year redshirt Tyrese Radford was Virginia Tech’s most efficient offensive player this season. He has an offensive rating of 126.1 (35th nation), a percentage of effective pitches of 58.3% (145º) and a percentage of 61.6% of true pitches (111º). Radford averages 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and an assisted turnover ratio of 2.1.
Cone Out; Questionable Brooks: Jalen Cone (9.2 ppg), second Virginia Tech guard, will not play in the ACC tournament due to a persistent ankle injury, while Roy Williams did not have an update on Brooks’ status after the victory over Notre Dame. Brooks was not officially eliminated on Wednesday, suggesting that he may be able to play sooner or later.
Size advantage: It will be another chance for UNC to assert its dominance and take advantage of its size. Virginia Tech does not have a player over 1.80 m. Brooks is questionable, so it may be up to Bacot, Kessler and Sharpe to replicate their performance on Wednesday night against the Irish. The Hokies play an aggressive defense style that can frustrate the Tar Heel greats with double teams on the low crossbar.
Last meeting: Tar Heels defeated the Hokies, 78-56, in the first round of the ACC Tournament on March 10, 2020. Garrison Brooks led all scorers with 20 points. Brandon Robinson scored 17 points on a hot night of shooting, going 5 out of 6 in the three-point range.
Series history: UNC leads the all-time series, 33-8, and is 3-0 against Virginia Tech in the ACC tournament.
UNC Projected Starters:
1 Leaky Black (Jr., 6-8, 195) – 5.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg
2 Caleb Love (Fr., 6-4, 195) – 10.4 ppg, 3.8 apg
5 Armando Bacot (So., 6-10, 240) – 11.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg
15 Garrison Brooks * (Sr., 6-10, 240) – 10.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg
24 Kerwin Walton (Fr., 6-5, 205) – 8.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg
* Brooks did not play Notre Dame with an ankle injury. If he is unable to play on Thursday, Sharpe will start again in his place.
Virginia Tech Designed Beginners:
3 Wabissa Bede (Gr., 6-1, 195) – 4.3 ppg, 3.1 apg
4 Nahiem Alleyne (So., 6-4, 195) – 10.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg
22 Keve Aluma (R-Jr., 6-9, 235) – 15.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg
23 Tyrese Radford (R-So., 6-2, 200) – 11.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg
25 Justyn Mutts (R-Jr., 6-7, 230) – 8.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg
Important Virginia Tech reservations:
0 Hunter Cattoor (So., 6-3, 200) – 8.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg
1 Joe Bamisile (Fr., 6-4, 195) – 3.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg
5 David N’Guessan (Fr., 6-9, 205) – 2.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg
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