No. 7 North Carolina stomps Virginia Tech in Chapel Hill, 96-81

Jack Brizendine

Editor in Chief

February 18, 2024

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Really good teams are really hard to beat, especially on the road.

Virginia Tech learned as much on Saturday in its crushing loss to No. 7 North Carolina, 96-81.

Early Tech foul trouble and little depth due to the absence of Mekhi Long helped the Tar Heels (20-6, 9-3 ACC) trounce the Hokies (14-11, 6-8).

“[They’re a] good team, good team,” Tech head coach Mike Young said to reporters after the game. “I hate to sound so simple.”

The Hokies were shelled by the Tar Heels from the start of the afternoon. After an initial 5-0 run from MJ Collins to begin the game, North Carolina stepped on the gas, riding a 12-2 run over the subsequent four minutes.

Only nine minutes into the game, Hunter Cattoor and Mylyjael Poteat had two fouls to their names. The fouling continued throughout the game for Tech forcing Young to turn to freshmen Jaydon Young and Patrick Wessler for extended minutes throughout the day.

North Carolina built its lead to as large as 14 in the first half, but an 8-2 run in under a minute in the final four minutes of the half cut the deficit to just five with 2:51 for the break.

A common theme of the day, the Tar Heels answered immediately with a 6-0 run to close out the half and lead 50-39.

“It was very frustrating,” MJ Collins said about not being able to close the gap. “We were making runs but they were running right back to keep the lead [at] double-digits. It’s kind of frustrating but it’s basketball, it’s a game of runs.”

Tech brought the game back again within seven points just five minutes into the second half, thanks to an 11-2 run fueled by four points from Lynn Kidd.

Another 6-0 run from the Heels kept the Hokies at bay, and never let Tech get within eight points of the lead for the remainder of the day.

The 96-81 defeat is only the second time since Tech joined the ACC that it has lost by double-digit points while scoring over 80 points, h/t Damian Salas. The first time it happened was in Chapel Hill on Jan. 21, 2019, when Tech fell 103-82.

Bacot led all scorers in the game with 25 points, in addition to 12 rebounds. He wasn’t the only Heel with a double-double, however, as Harrison Ingram finished the first half with one, completing the game with 12 points and 17 boards.

While North Carolina dominated the battle in the paint, Poteat and Kidd held things down for Tech with 25 points and 10 boards combined.

“Mylyjael and Lynn, they gave us everything they could give us,” Young said. “It was a great effort.”

The Hokies were kept afloat by efficient 3-point shooting in the first half, making five of their first 10, despite finishing just 7-for-26 (27%).

Collins led the Hokies with 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting, including a pair of threes.

Former Tar Heel Tyler Nickel made his impact felt in his first game back at the Dean Smith Center since transferring to Tech in the offseason, scoring 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting from range. He also finished with a season-high three blocks. 

“He [Nickel] had a good look, he’s had a good year for us,” Young said. “He’s a good basketball player. He’s awesome to coach. He’s very conscientious. He wants to be a great player.”

The loss likely eliminates the Hokies from any chance of sneaking into the NCAA tournament, but have the opportunity to for one last gasp on Monday when they host No. 21 Virginia at 7 p.m.

“We’ve played UVa once already so we pretty much know what we’re looking for, so dialing in on that,” Collins said about prepping for Virginia. “The style of play is totally different. UVa tries to use the whole shot clock, Carolina wants to push it, so it’ll be a great adjustment for us.