Behind a career-high 29 points from senior guard Brandon Robinson, the North Carolina men's basketball team defeated Miami, 94-71, to snap a five-game losing streak and secure win No. 880 for Roy Williams. With the victory, Williams breaks a tie with former UNC head coach Dean Smith for sole possession of fourth-most wins by a Division I men's basketball head coach.
What happened?
Both Miami (10-9, 2-7 ACC) and North Carolina (9-10, 2-6 ACC) came into Saturday's game dealing with plenty of injuries, so a sloppy start wasn't much of a surprise. The two teams combined to shoot 3-15 to open the game before the Tar Heels kicked off the scoring.
UNC eventually found its footing to pull ahead with a 17-4 lead midway through the first half behind buckets from five different players.
After missing the VT game, Robinson led North Carolina in scoring at nine points early on after knocking down a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer in an 80-second span, forcing Miami to call a timeout with a little over eight minutes left in the first half.
Although Robinson's 15 first-half points led the Tar Heels, it was an incredibly well-rounded effort by UNC. North Carolina went into the half with 17 assists on 22 field goals and had seven players register a basket.
Robinson took his hot shooting into another gear to open the second half, though.
The senior guard hit all four of his first shots, including three from behind the arc, to start the period. Robinson racked up 12 points in the first 5:07 of the second half to tie his career high of 27 points with plenty of time remaining for more.
Robinson went on to score 29 points as the Tar Heels cruised through the second half for a 94-71 win over the Hurricanes.
