Boston College bounced by UNC
North Carolina started the season the No. 1 team in the country and entered the ACC tournament with an uncharacteristically low No. 7 seed in the playoffs.
The Tar Heels made a strong move back toward their preseason prominence with a convincing 85-61 victory over No. 10 Boston College in the second round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.
BC finished the season 16-17 overall and 9-12 in the ACC. UNC improved to 2012 and 12-9 in the ACC and will face No. 2 Virginia in the quarterfinals on Thursday night at 7.
“We know this loss hurts but we had one hell of a year honestly, beating some top ranked teams,” said BC guard Jaeden Zackery. “I know our record is below .500, but I don’t think that can express how well we played this season.”
UNC shot 55% from the floor with 10 made 3-point shots, 16 assists and 33 rebounds. The Tar Heels’ backcourt tandem of Caleb Love and R.J. Davis combined for 40 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Makai Ashton-Lanford led BC with 16 while Zackery netted 15.
“For us, I don’t think we played our best game but we had exerted a lot of energy up to this point,” said BC second year coach Earl Grant. “I think they played one of their better games having watched the film and studying them. I thought they did a lot of things well.”
Ashton-Langford found his range early, hitting a trey from the right of the key followed by a pair of pullups to account for eight of BC’s opening 10 points.
UNC’s game plan became apparent with big men Armando Bacot and Leaky Black attacking the rim against the undersized Eagles. Grant tried to offset the Heels’ play in the paint by putting 7-0 center Quinten Post into the game at 16:29. Post rolled his right ankle early in the season finale against Georgia Tech and did not play in the first-round win over Louisville.
“I give credit to our staff for getting me ready,” said Post. “There was some pain but I felt good enough to play.”
UNC coach Hubert Davis reversed course and began attacking BC’s man-zone with perimeter shooting. Love buried a turnaround and 3-ball at the end of a 12-4 run that gave the Heels an 1810 lead into the second media timeout.
The Tar Heels extended the drive with Davis and Love dropping shots from behind the arc to give UNC a 33-16 lead into the third media timeout.
The Heels were up 39-23 when Bacot rolled an ankle and had to leave the game. Carolina made 7-of-13 from downtown with 10 assists to take a 43-29 lead into the half.
“They made a lot of shots and kind of got us down pretty early,” said Grant. “I thought we showed some fight at the end of the first half but they had another quick run at the start of the second.”
Bacot returned the floor and scored the opening basket of the second half. Bacot’s floater was the opening salvo of a 15-2 run that put the Heels up 5831 with 15:25 to play. Davis added the run’s exclaimer with a 3-ball.
Chas Kelley and Mason Madsen combined for eight points, but UNC’s plan going forward was to bleed the clock. The reprieve was short lived and the Tar Heels rolled on to the final buzzer.