By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — The beast mode from Harrison Ingram early and Armando Bacot late drove No. 7 North Carolina to a huge bounce-back victory it badly needed.
Bacot scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, and Ingram had a double-double by halftime as the Tar Heels eased to a 96–81 win Saturday over Virginia Tech at the Smith Center for the 64th 20-win season in program history and third in a row.
UNC coach Hubert Davis said it’s been an emphasis all season to “dominate points in the paint,” and the Tar Heels shifted to getting the ball more to Bacot after halftime.
“One of the things that Armando did really well was in transition, his ability just to seal his man right in the middle of the paint,” said Coach Davis, whose team scored 54 inside points, the most since collecting 58 in the Jan. 13 home win over Syracuse. “It’s a perfect place to get him the ball because they can’t double-team him; it’s in transition. Really nice job by our players to get him the ball when he was open near the basket.”
Bacot, with his seventh game of at least 20 points this season and 81st career double-double, led four starters scoring in double figures. He said that Assistant Coach Jeff Lebo made it an emphasis at halftime to pound the ball to him.
“Their bigs were in foul trouble, and I knew going into the second half, I had to put a lot of pressure on the rim and really try to get them out of the game, and I thought I did a good job of that,” said Bacot, whose 16 shots were his most since the opener against Radford. “Credit to the guards; they got me the ball, and I scored. If not, I passed the ball out to them, and they scored.”
UNC (20–6, 12–3 ACC) got big games from RJ Davis (20 points, three 3-pointers), Cormac Ryan (16 points, four 3-pointers) and Ingram (12 points, 17 rebounds).
“He was going for the ball, being physical,” Bacot said of Ingram. “He’s a tough box out because he’s so strong. He’s athletic, and he always knows how to find a ball. Having a four man like that with that athleticism able to do that was a huge plus for us.”
When Coach Davis was asked who Ingram reminds him of with his ability to be an aggressive rebounder, he said Bacot.
“He doesn’t do anything special,” Coach Davis said of Ingram. “What he does, he goes every time. There’s no technique. Rebounding is will, want-to, desire, toughness. He puts himself in a position, even tip-outs and loose balls. The ball finds effort. It just does. And he goes to the offensive glass every time; it’s not surprising that the ball ends up in his hands.”
Ingram jump-started the Heels early after the Hokies scored the game’s first five points, notching his ninth double-double after registering only five in two seasons at Stanford.
He said turning into a double-double machine is a product of offseason work to lose weight and work on his body, training with a manager who is a cross country runner. But his role is also different.
“On this team, I’m more of the four man. I’m inside. I’m rebounding. My job is to rebound a little more than it was,” Ingram said, comparing this to his time at Stanford. “[Last year], I was more on the perimeter going around ball screens more like a two.”
Defending the 3-pointer, which wasn’t a problem most of the season, has been a recurring issue of late. After opponents only shot 40% or better from outside the arc three times in the first 19 games, it had happened in three of the previous six games.
The Hokies hit 42.9% (6 of 14) of their 3-point attempts in the first half, but made only 1 of 12 after halftime, a garbage-time 3 from former UNC player Tyler Nickel. Nickel equaled his 3-point output last season in the Smith Center with four, only his third career game with at least four. He finished with 14 points, tied for his fourth-best output this season.
“Just being more up to touch, and the guards just getting to the ball a little bit off the pick and rolls,” said RJ Davis, explaining how the perimeter defense got better in the second half. “Just sifting out the actions. They ran a lot of actions for [Hunter] Cattoor, with his ability to move off the ball.”
Cattoor, who came into the game shooting 43.8% from 3-point range, was 1 of 6 from outside the arc and scored only 11 points.
Another problem that has led to UNC’s defensive issues in recent games was how the Tar Heels defended ball screens, but that got better Saturday.
“We just connected to the body, being aggressive as they come off the ball screens. We did a better job of that in the second half,” RJ Davis said. “I think the last couple of games, we didn’t do a good job of our ball-screen coverages. That was one of our emphases going to this game today, just to be more dynamic on the ball and apply some pressure and then also help-side.”
Elliot Cadeau’s impact may not always jump out in the box score, but there’s no doubt that Carolina’s offense is better when he’s on the court. His +20 in the first half was double the best for any other Tar Heel, and he finished with eight points and four assists but five turnovers.
Jae’Lyn Withers (four points, two rebounds and two steals) was an active defender, knocking the ball from a defender on one play and blocking a shot on another.
After UNC turned the ball over on its first two possessions and Virginia Tech scored the first five points of the game, Carolina scored the next 10 points, seven from Ingram.
A Cadeau layup capped a 17–5 UNC run to push the lead to 14 with 7:35 left in the first half. Nickel’s third 3-pointer sparked an 8–2 Hokies run to cut the lead to five with 2:51 left. Carolina finished the half with a 6–0 run, including a Davis 3-pointer, to take a 50–39 halftime lead, its largest since a 17-point advantage against Louisville on Jan. 17.
Virginia Tech sliced its deficit to seven on a Nickel jumper with 15 minutes left, but a 6–0 UNC run shoved it back to 13, and the lead never got lower than seven after that. A layup and 3-pointer from Davis expanded the lead to 12 with 5:32 remaining.
MJ Collins led six scoring in double figures for the Hokies (14–11, 6–8) with 18 points, with Mylyjael Poteat adding 15.
NOTES — Carolina is the last team in the ACC to get mid-week games off, and next plays in a pivotal 4 p.m. game Saturday (ESPN) at No. 21 Virginia. The Cavaliers (20–6, 11–4), who won 49–47 at home Saturday against Wake Forest, play at Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. Monday (ESPN). … The NCAA tournament committee released an early bracket, and it has UNC as the top No. 2 seed. … Ingram eclipsed 1,000th career points. He scored 682 in two seasons at Stanford and has 326 in 26 games as a Tar Heel. … UNC scored 90 or more points for the seventh time this season and the 20th time under Coach Davis. Carolina is 7–0 this season and 19–1 under Davis when scoring at least 90 points. … The Tar Heels shot 51.5% from the floor, the fifth time this season they shot 50% or better. UNC has won 28 consecutive games when shooting 50% or higher. … Carolina shot 56.7% from the floor in the second half, its best in a second half since shooting 61.3% against Wake Forest on Jan. 22. … The Heels scored 50 first-half points, moving to is 9–1 when they score at least 40 points in the first half. … After pulling down double-digit rebounds only six times in two seasons at Stanford, Ingram has done it 12 times this season. … Bacot passed Drexel’s Malik Rose of Drexel for the seventh-most double-doubles in NCAA history. … RJ Davis extended his school-record streak of games with multiple 3-pointers to 23. … Ryan had multiple 3-pointers for the third game in a row and the sixth time in the last seven games. … Seth Trimble had a season-high four assists, which was one off his career high. … UNC honored field hockey player Ryleigh Heck and tennis player Fiona Crawley during a first-half timeout for winning the Honda Award as national players of the year in their sports. … Carolina honored the Tar Heels’ national championship field hockey team during a second-half timeout. … Luke Maye, Drake Powell, Coby White, Brandon Robinson and Phil Ford were in the arena for the game. … UNC ended a two-game losing streak against the Hokies, and leads the all-time series 73–17, including 34–6 in Chapel Hill and 9–1 at the Smith Center. … Virginia Tech fell to 1–7 on the road, with the only win at N.C. State on Jan. 20.
No. 7 UNC 96, Virginia Tech 81
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 4 North Carolina | 17–3 | 25–6 |
| No. 11 Duke | 15–5 | 24–7 |
| Virginia | 13–7 | 22–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 12–8 | 21–10 |
| Clemson | 11–9 | 21–10 |
| Syracuse | 11–9 | 20–11 |
| Wake Forest | 11–9 | 19–12 |
| Virginia Tech | 10–10 | 18–13 |
| Florida State | 10–10 | 16–15 |
| N.C. State | 9–11 | 17–13 |
| Boston College | 8–12 | 17–14 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–12 | 14–17 |
| Notre Dame | 7–13 | 12–19 |
| Miami | 6–14 | 15–16 |
| Louisville | 3–17 | 8–22 |
Saturday’s games
No. 4 North Carolina 84, No. 11 Duke 79
Virginia Tech 82, Notre Dame 76
Florida State 83, Miami 75
Boston College 67, Louisville 61
Wake Forest 81, Clemson 76
Pittsburgh 81, N.C. State 73
Virginia 72, Georgia Tech 57
ACC tournament
March 12–16, Capitol One Arena, Washington
UNC season statistics
| Date | Month/day | Score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 27 | Friday | W, 117–53 | vs. St. Augustine’s | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 6 | Monday | W, 86–70 | vs. Radford | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 90–68 | vs. Lehigh | 2–0 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 77–52 | vs. UC Riverside | 3–0 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas | ||||
| 22 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | Northern Iowa | 4–0 |
| 23 | Thursday | L, 83–81, OT | Villanova | 4–1 |
| 24 | Friday | W, 87–72 | Arkansas | 5–1 |
| ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | ||||
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 100–92 | vs. No. 6 Tennessee | 6–1 |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 78–70 | vs. Florida State | 7–1, 1–0 ACC |
| Jimmy V Classic in New York | ||||
| 5 | Tuesday | L, 87–67 | No. 1 Connecticut | 7–2 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 16 | Saturday | L, 87–83 | No. 12 Kentucky | 7–3 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 20 | Wednesday | W, 81–69 | Oklahoma | 8–3 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 105–60 | vs. Charleston Southern | 9–3 |
| January | ||||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 70–57 | at Pittsburgh | 10–3, 2–0 ACC |
| 6 | Saturday | W, 65–55 | at Clemson | 11–3, 3–0 ACC |
| 10 | Wednesday | W, 67–54 | at N.C. State | 12–3, 4–0 ACC |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 103–67 | vs. Syracuse | 13–3, 5–0 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 86–70 | vs. Louisville | 14–3, 6–0 ACC |
| 20 | Saturday | W, 76–66 | vs. Boston College | 15–3, 7–0 ACC |
| 22 | Monday | W, 85–64 | vs. Wake Forest | 16–3, 8–0 ACC |
| 27 | Saturday | W, 75–68 | at Florida State | 17–3, 9–0 ACC |
| 30 | Tuesday | L, 74–73 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 9–1 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | W, 93–84 | vs. No. 13 Duke | 18–4, 10–1 ACC |
| 6 | Tuesday | L, 80–76 | vs. Clemson | 18–5, 10–2 ACC |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 75–72 | at Miami | 19–5, 11–2 ACC |
| 13 | Tuesday | L, 86–79 | at Syracuse | 19–6, 11–3 ACC |
| 17 | Saturday | W, 96–81 | vs. Virginia Tech | 20–6, 12–3 ACC |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 54–44 | at Virginia | 21–6, 13–3 ACC |
| 26 | Monday | W, 75–71 | vs. Miami | 22–6, 14–3 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 79–70 | vs. N.C. State | 23–6, 15–3 ACC |
| 5 | Tuesday | W, 84–51 | vs. Notre Dame | 24–6, 16–3 ACC |
| 9 | Saturday | W, 84–79 | at No. 13 Duke | 25–6, 17–3 ACC |
| ACC tournament Washington | ||||
| 14 | Thursday | W, 92–67 | Quarterfinals: Florida State | 26–6 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 72–65 | Semifinals: Pittsburgh | 27–6 |
| 16 | Saturday | L, 84–76 | Final: N.C. State | 27–7 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 21 | Thursday | W, 90–62 | First round in Charlotte: Wagner | 28–7 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 85–69 | Second round in Charlotte: Michigan State | 29–7 |
| 28 | Thursday | L, 89–87 | Sweet 16 in Los Angeles: No. 19 Alabama | 29–8 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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