B-Rob Bombs The Hokies
GREENSBORO, NC - A big second half stretch for North Carolina senior guard Brandon Robinson helped propel the Tar Heels to a 78-56 victory over Virginia Tech in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Tuesday in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Robinson finished with 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the floor, with his makes all from beyond the 3-point line in six tries. The Douglasville, GA, native has now scored in double-figures in 16 games this season, including the last three.
“It felt really good to see the ball go through the net,” Robinson said.
Nine of Robinson’s 17 points came late in the second half during a 1:51 stretch where he hit three straight threes. His hot hand helped push UNC’s lead out to 25, which virtually sealed the victory.
Robinson was in the zone and showed some emotion to a predominantly Carolina crowd during that run, too. After hitting the first of those three made threes, a crossover step-back over Virginia Tech’s Nahiem Allyne, Robinson turned to the crowd and let them know how he was feeling.
“I said ‘I’m here,’” Robinson said with a smile.
Coming into this year’s tournament, Robinson had scored a total of just 16 points in his eight previous ACC Tournament appearances. He passed that total in one night against the Hokies and, despite his impressive performance, Robinson is simply happy the team gets to play again Wednesday.
“It feels good,” Robinson said. “I just want to do whatever it takes for my team to win the game.”
For UNC Coach Roy Williams, Robinson’s effectiveness from beyond the arc was huge for his team.
“B-Rob going 5-for-6 from the 3-point line was extremely important to us,” Williams said.
Not only was his coach full of praise, so were his teammates. Freshman forward Armando Bacot, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, said Robinson’s ability to catch fire can put fear in their opponents.
“When B-Rob gets going, it’s scary,” Bacot said. “Just having him hit those big shots, just raising his confidence up for the next game tomorrow for a team that’ll be playing in the 2-3 zone, it’ll be great.”
The lone four-year senior to play significant minutes on this team, Robinson stepped up and performed against Virginia Tech like the seasoned veteran he is, helping the Tar Heels survive and advance to play another day in Greensboro.