UNC basketball will begin its quest for an ACC tournament title against Boston College
North Carolina’s ACC tournament begins Wednesday against No. 10 seed Boston College in the tournament’s second round. The Eagles defeated the Louisville Cardinals, 80-62, in the first round Tuesday in the Greensboro Coliseum.
The Tar Heels are trying to duplicate Virginia Tech’s run to the ACC tournament title last season as a No. 7 seed. The Hokies were the lowest seed to ever win when they cut down the nets in Brooklyn last season.
What’s at stake:
The Heels have avoided losses to Quad 3 or 4 teams in the NCAA NET rankings, so they can’t afford to start now. A loss in Wednesday’s second round to the Eagles would effectively end Carolina’s NCAA tournament hopes.
A win would advance Carolina to the quarterfinals to meet No. 2 seed Virginia. The teams split their regular season meetings with each team winning on their home court. UVA won 65-58 in Charlottesville on Jan. 10 after UNC forward Armando Bacot injured his ankle less than two minutes into the game and did not play the remainder of it. UNC won 71-63 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 25 powered by going 10-for-22 from 3-point range and getting 22 points from Pete Nance.
First impression
The Heels beat the Eagles in their only regular season meeting. Carolina led the entire game but allowed Boston College to chip an 11-point deficit down to one with six minutes left.
UNC guard Caleb Love answered with three key plays starting with a 3-pointer and ending with him taking a charge that sparked a 7-0 run to keep the Heels in control.
Armando Bacot tied UNC’s program record for double-doubles by scoring 20 points with 16 rebounds. But since that win over BC, Bacot has only scored 20 or more once when he scored 23 in their home win over N.C. State on Jan. 21.
Will Quinten Post play?
Boston College played without starting center Quinten Post, who suffered an ankle injury in the regular-season finale against Georgia Tech. Post, who won the ACC’s Most Improved Player award, averaged 15.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Post’s return is considered day-to-day, so there’s a chance he could be back in the lineup for Wednesday’s game. Post had 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting before fouling out in Carolina’s 72-64 win over the Eagles on Jan. 17 in Chapel Hill.
The Eagles did play the first 13 games of the season without him while he sat with a foot injury, so if he is unable to play, they know they way they need to play to win.
Scouting report on Boston College
In their first meeting with UNC, the Eagles did not make a 3-pointer, but only had six attempts. They shot 5-for-19 against Louisville on Tuesday.
They want to drive and attack the paint. Even without Post on Tuesday, BC outscored the Cards 40-24 in points in the paint.
The key for Carolina will be containing guards Makai Ashton-Langford, who scored a game-high 16 points against the Cards; and Jaede Zackery, who added 15 points on Tuesday.
What they’re saying:
Boston College head coach Earl Grant: “This has been a beautiful struggle as it pertains to the season. We had a lot of setbacks, up and downs, disappointments, guys in and out of the roster. If there was ever a team that had some sort of opportunity to be prepared to miss an important player,we would have to be one of those teams just because of what we experienced throughout the year.”
