RJ Davis scored 19 points, and Armando Bacot added 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, leading the North Carolina Tar Heels to an 81-73 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament on Thursday night at Greensboro, N.C.

The win gave coach Roy Williams career victory No. 903. That moved him past Bobby Knight for fourth place in the NCAA Division I list for most wins.

North Carolina (18-9) advanced to play Florida State in Friday's semifinals.

The Tar Heels, who entered the day leading the nation in rebound margin (11.1) and offensive boards per game (15.7), were able to press their size advantage in the second half. UNC finished the game with a 43-32 rebound advantage, including 15-7 on the offensive glass. UNC also had a 7-2 edge on blocked shots.

No. 22 Virginia Tech (15-6) was led by Justyn Mutts, who had 24 points and eight rebounds. Tyrece Radford was right behind at 20 points and six rebounds.

However, Hokies leading scorer and rebounder Keve Aluma had a rare off game. He was held to nine points and eight rebounds.

It was Virginia Tech's first game since a win over Wake Forest on Feb. 27. The Hokies had two straight games canceled because someone close to the program tested positive for COVID-19.

Virginia Tech was without Jalen Cone, who is fourth on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg) but was unable to go due to an ankle injury.

However, UNC's Garrison Brooks returned from an ankle injury and had five points and three rebounds.

In the first half, the lead changed hands five times before the Hokies went into the break with a 35-32 advantage.

Despite UNC's size advantage, the Tar Heels were held just a 16-15 rebounding edge in the first 20 minutes. Neither team shot better than 47 percent in the opening half, but Hokies standouts Radford and Mutts each had 14 points to lead the way.

The score was tied for the final time at 49-49 with 11 minutes left in the second half. UNC then went on a 7-0 run and never trailed again.

--Field Level Media