Who Got Next: Round 1 ACC Tourney, UNC vs Virginia Tech

UNC heads to Greensboro for round 1 of the ACC Tournament to face Virginia Tech

“We’ve got to focus and lock in because nobody wants our season to end. It’s do-or-die starting Tuesday.” - Brandon Robinson.

Here's everything you need to know by the numbers for round 1 against the Hokies.

Who: Virginia Tech Hokies

Where: ACC Tournament, Round 1: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC

Date: 3/10/2020

Time: 7 pm EST

Watch: ACCN (Wes Durham, Cory Alexander, Katie

George)

Listen: Tar Heel Sports Properties (Jones Angell, Eric

Montross) & Sirius XM 81

Going into the game, here's where Carolina stands:

• Carolina is the No. 14 seed in the 2020 ACC Tournament and opens plays vs. No. 11 Virginia Tech at 7 pm on Tuesday, March 10.
• The winner plays No. 6 Syracuse at approximately 9:30 pm on Wednesday in the second round. The winner of that game advances to play No. 3 Louisville on Thursday at approximately 9:30 pm.
• Carolina enters ACC Tournament play 13-18 overall after going 6-14 in conference play.
• The 18 losses are the second most in UNC history (8-20 in 2001-02).
• The 14 losses are the most in ACC play in UNC history (12 in a 16-game schedule in 2001-02).
• Carolina tied for 13th place in the ACC. This is just the second time in 17 seasons a Roy Williams team has finished out of the top five in ACC play (tied 11th in 2010).
• Eleven scholarship players have combined to miss 98 games due to injury and illness this season, by far the most in the Roy Williams Era
• The Tar Heels are 68-15 against the Hokies, including 15-5 since Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004-05.
• The Tar Heels are 2-0 against the Hokies in the ACC Tournament.
• Roy Williams is 15-5 against the Hokies, all while head coach of the Tar Heels.

Carolina in Greensboro:

• This is Carolina's first game in Greensboro since 2/5/2017, when the Tar Heels beat Notre Dame, 83-76, in a home game that was moved from the Smith Center due to a water shortage in Chapel Hill.

• The Tar Heels are 116-30 in the Greensboro Coliseum, including 39-18 in ACC Tournament games.

• Carolina has won ACC Tournament titles in Greensboro eight times (1967-72-75-77-79-82-97-98).

What about the players?

• Garrison Brooks:
• Brooks has scored 20, 22, 30, 26, 25, and 26 points in his last six games. He is the first Tar Heel to score 25 or more points in four straight games since Antawn Jamison in 1998.
• In conference games only, Brooks is second in scoring (18.4), second in rebounding (8.7), and seventh in FG percentage (.547)
• Brooks has won UNC's defensive player of the game award 13 times this season and 33 times in three seasons. He's won the award in six of the last eight games.
• Cole Anthony:
• Freshman point guard Cole Anthony leads Carolina in scoring at 20.2 points per game. That's the highest average by a freshman in the nation and is on pace to be the highest ever by a UNC freshman (Tyler Hansbrough holds the record at 18.9 ppg in 2005-06).
• Over the last three games, Anthony is 23 for 39 from the floor (.590). Anthony has scored 25 or more points five times this season, equaling the second-most by a UNC freshman.
• Anthony is averaging 21.1 points and 4.6 assists in the 10 games since he returned from a right knee injury that sidelined him for 11 games from December 15 to January 27.
• Christian Keeling:
• Keeling has scored in double figures in 94 college games, including six of the last nine games as a Tar Heel.
• Keeling has set season scoring highs four times in the last ten games (14 at Florida State, 15 at Wake Forest, 16 vs. NC State, and 18 at Syracuse).
• Brandon Robinson:
• Robinson made five three-pointers and scored 18 points on Senior Night against Wake Forest. It was the fourth time this season he made at least five threes (first time since the Miami game on January 25).
• He made three or more 3FGs in seven straight games (a streak snapped on January 27 at NC State), which equaled the second-longest such streak in Carolina history.

Anything Else?:

• In a season in which Carolina didn't score 80 points in a win until its ninth win and 19th game of the season (against Miami on January 25), the Tar Heels are now averaging 80.1 points in their 13 victories.
• Carolina's ACC Tournament first-round game vs. Virginia Tech will be the 12th time in 32 games the team's three leading scorers – Cole Anthony, Garrison Brooks, and Brandon Robinson have all played. It will be the seventh game the trio has played together since the middle of December.
• Garrison Brooks had 26 points at Syracuse and 25 against the Deacons. Cole Anthony scored 25 in the Carrier Dome and netted 28 against Wake Forest. They became the first Tar Heel duo to score 25 or more points in consecutive games since Larry Miller and Bobby Lewis accomplished the feat in 1965-66 against Ohio State and Richmond.
• The win over NC State was Roy Williams' 200th regular-season ACC win, making him the third coach (and second fastest) in league history to win 200. Williams won his 200th in 287 games; Dean Smith won his 200th in 278 games, and Mike Krzyzewski won his 200th in 296.