North Carolina (22-12, 13-7 ACC) secured their spot in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament with a 68-59 upset win over Wake Forest (21-11, 13-7 ACC) on Thursday afternoon in Charlotte. The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons are traditional in-state rivals, however they had not played each other in the ACC Tournament since 2000. The victory also gave head coach Hubert Davis his 100th win with the Tar Heels.
Tar Heels Control Glass, Take Advantage of Free Throw Opportunities
Both North Carolina and Wake Forest put up forgettable shooting efforts, with the Tar Heels shooting 33.9% from the floor and 36.4% from three, while the Demon Deacons shot 33.9% as well, although they shot an abysmal 9.1% from behind the arc, only making 2 of their 22 attempts. UNC controlled the glass, out-rebounding Wake 46-38. The Tar Heels had a phenomenal afternoon from the charity stripe by taking advantage of the Demon Deacons fouls and hitting 22/27 free throws.
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Ven-Allen Lubin posted yet another double-double (he had 17 points, 10 rebounds in the quarterfinals against Notre Dame), putting up 10 points and a game high 13 rebounds. Coming off his career high 21 point game on 7 three’s, Jae’Lyn Withers could not seem to find the same rhythm against Wake Forest, scoring 9 points on 2/10 shooting. He did however manage to contribute in other ways, tallying a game high 3 assists. Star guard RJ Davis had a team high 23 points on 5 three’s and 8/8 shooting from the free throw line. Seth Trimble came off of the bench to aid the Tar Heels, scoring 10 points in the win.
Duke, Semifinals Await Tar Heels
North Carolina will once again play rival Duke (29-3, 19-1 ACC) for the third time this season in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday. the Tar Heels have lost the previous two matchups against the Blue Devils by a combined score of 169-139. Duke may be without superstar freshman Cooper Flagg, who suffered a left ankle injury in the first half of the Blue Devils quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech on Thursday.
Flagg was taken into the locker room and was later spotted in a wheelchair, however his X-rays came back negative. Duke head coach jon Scheyer told the media that the probability of Flagg playing the semifinals on Friday against the Tar Heels is a “real long shot”. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 7 pm EST on Friday, and will air on ESPN/2.
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