After an explosive start on Sunday, No. 2 North Carolina encountered adversity in the form of foul trouble that swung momentum in Virginia Tech’s favor and turned a potential blowout into a hard-fought ACC road victory.
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Brice Johnson led the Tar Heels past Wake Forest. That would have meant two screens or choosing one game over the other. They are undefeated in ACC conference play and they are ranked No. 2 in the nation. “We’ve got a bulls-eye on our back now with that No. 1 ranking”. He won 418 games at Kansas before joining North Carolina in 2003.
The North Carolina vs Virginia Tech basketball game this afternoon starts at 3pm EST. The Tar Heels were up 57-49 with 11:01 remaining but the Hokies went on a 12-2 run and took a 61-59 lead on a basket by Kerry Blackshear Jr. with 8:05 remaining.
Though a double-double from Stephanie Watts (13 points, 10 rebounds) would have been impressive for any freshman playing her first game in Cameron, an 0-for-14 performance beyond the arc left much to wonder what might have been.
“We shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, so we were doing OK offensively”, Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said. Duke exhibited strong defensive pressure early on, limiting North Carolina to a 3-of-8 shooting performance in the opening five minutes, but the Tar Heels defense was just as strong as the Blue Devils went just 3-of-9 from the floor in the same span. They have now shot worse than 40 percent from the floor in three straight games.
“As long as we win, I’m fine”, said Paige, held to two points on 1 of 8 shooting by Wake Forest. That was the single factor that helped us win the game more than anything else.
“I think that was a big part of it [the outcome]”, Williams said. “You’ve got to be able to step up and make some shots”.
North Carolina’s guards, Berry II and Britt, have been bright spots on offense the entire season.
Fellow frosh Destinee Walker finished with eight points and five rebounds, but fell below her season average of 14 points per game.
It will also be shown on ESPNU during the original 6:30 pm television window. Chris Clarke missed his eighth straight game after undergoing surgery December 29 to fix a broken foot. Currently, Va. Tech is 3-0 at home in ACC games.
Still, the Hokies had one more chance to win or force overtime.
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Virginia Tech next plays at home against Louisville on Wednesday.
