Theo Pinson tried an alley-oop pass that went directly into the basket for a surprise 3-pointer, and the befuddled look on his face was priceless. Isaiah Hicks had 19 points and the Tar Heels certainly looked the part of a title contender while wearing down Miami for a 78-53 victory in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Luke Goldstock scored four goals and had one assist and Brian Balkam made 17 saves, a career high, while allowing just nine goals, as #6 North Carolina whipped #1 Denver 13-9 Saturday afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

CHAPEL HILL North Carolina secured the series victory on ACC opening weekend, capturing a 6-2 win over No. 21 Pittsburgh to claim the first two games of the three-game series.

No. 14 Virginia’s traditionally strong defence will get a challenge this week against some of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s best offences. The Cavaliers face No.

North Carolina senior forward Isaiah Hicks did not play at Duke last Thursday night after suffering a hamstring in practice the day before that game. Now his status remains in doubt, too, for the Tar Heels’ game at N.C. State on Wednesday.

Jessica Thomas scored 24 points to match her career high, Laura Cornelius hit five 3-pointers for 19 points, and No. 17 Miami reached triple figures for the first time in six years, defeating North Carolina 100-88 on Thursday night.

Justin Jackson scored 26 points and No. 9 North Carolina hit a season-high 14 3-pointers to beat Virginia Tech 91-72 on Thursday night.

Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams earned his 800th career victory when Isaiah Hicks scored 20 points to lead No. 9 North Carolina to an 85-68 victory over Syracuse on Monday night.

Bryce Love took over for the absent Christian McCaffrey in the Stanford backfield, running for 119 yards and catching a 49-yard touchdown pass to help the No.

Kentucky coach John Calipari figures the sixth-ranked Wildcats and seventh-ranked North Carolina are still sorting through what kind of teams they can be.