Freshman guard Coby White finished with 27 points as No. 11 North Carolina rode a 20-0 first-half run in toppling No. 10 Virginia Tech 103-82 on Monday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina made a season-high 16 shots from 3-point range, including 14 of 18 during one stretch. That came after the Tar Heels missed their first 11 long-range attempts. Nassir Little's 23 points off the bench led a strong supporting effort for North Carolina, which included 14 points from Luke Maye, 12 from Garrison Brooks and 10 from Kenny Williams (all in the second half).
North Carolina (15-4, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) holds sole possession of first place in the ACC.
Ahmed Hill scored 20 points, Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each had 19 points, and Justin Robinson added 17 for Virginia Tech (15-3, 4-2), which gave up 20 more points than it had in any other game this season.
It marked the first time the Hokies were ranked for a matchup with North Carolina. The Tar Heels improved to 10-9 under coach Roy Williams when facing a higher-ranked ACC opponent at home.
North Carolina led 45-31 at halftime, boosted by a combined 24 points from White and Brooks along with Virginia Tech's 12 turnovers.
Earlier, Virginia Tech hit a barrage of 3-poiners for a 19-11 lead before the first media timeout.
Brooks scored eight of North Carolina's first 13 points.
The Hokies were 6-for-7 on 3s and held a 22-13 lead about eight minutes into the game. That was a contrast to last week's loss at Virginia, when Virginia Tech had 22 first-half points.
Robinson, though, picked up his third foul on a charge at the 9:52 mark, in the midst of a three-minute field-goal drought for both teams.
Later, White canned consecutive threes to give North Carolina its first lead at 31-29 with 3:52 left in the half. His third 3-pointer of the period made it 39-29, and Brooks' three-point play and Johnson's 3 capped a 20-0 run. Blackshear's tip-in on Virginia Tech's final possession of the half ended the streak and made it 45-31 at the half.
Virginia Tech won the lone meeting last season with the Tar Heels, 80-69.
--Field Level Media
Virginia Tech | North Carolina | |
Ahmed Hill 20 | Scoring | Coby White 27 |
Justin Robinson 6 | Assists | Coby White 6 |
Kerry Blackshear Jr. 17 | Rebounds | Coby White 7 |
Kerry Blackshear Jr. 7 | Free Throws Made | Nassir Little 7 |
Nickeil Alexander-Walker 3 | Steals | Coby White 4 |
Kerry Blackshear Jr. 1 | Blocks | Luke Maye 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Virginia Tech | 82 | 44.3 | 13-28 | 15-16 | 21 | 30 | 1 | 8 | 16 |
North Carolina | 103 | 53.7 | 16-34 | 15-17 | 25 | 32 | 2 | 9 | 13 |