BLACKSBURG, Va. - North Carolina's Sean May made a statement to Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer Virginia Tech with an in-your-face dunk.

"I told him, `Hey, welcome to the ACC, baby,'" May said, recounting a brief conversation with Virginia Tech freshman Deron Washington after the emphatic dunk in the No. 5 Tar Heels' 85-51 victory Sunday in the Hokies' conference debut.

May and Jawad Williams scored 17 points apiece, Raymond Felton added 15, and 12 of the 14 North Carolina players scored in the Tar Heels' eighth consecutive victory since a season-opening loss to Santa Clara.

North Carolina (8-1) turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, then used a 33-9 run bridging the halves to open a 57-32 lead.

If nothing else, it was a learning experience for Virginia Tech.

"There's no time to be getting discouraged," said Hokies guard Zabian Dowdell, who had 16 of his 21 points in the opening 20 minutes.

"We just have to continue to work hard. We can say we know how good teams in the ACC can be right about now. We just have to think about this game when we're in practice. When you get tired, you've just got to go harder."

The Tar Heels outscored Virginia Tech 48-26 in the paint, continually pounding the ball inside. Williams finished 7-for-8 from the field, May was 6-for-8 and freshman Marvin Williams was 5-for-6 and scored 12 points.

"After the first 6 or 7 minutes, we did a great job offensively," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "We were able to get the ball inside."

Virginia Tech (5-3), overmatched inside and out, kept it close for the first 15 minutes on the strength of Dowdell's big first half, but wore down against the deeper, taller and more experienced Tar Heels.

Carlos Dixon and Jamon Gordon each added nine points for Virginia Tech, which shot 36 percent to North Carolina's 65 percent. The Hokies also were outrebounded 34-24 and beaten 21-6 on the fast break.

But at least the early going was encouraging, especially when Dowdell's third 3-pointer pulled the Hokies to 24-23 5:25 before halftime.

"We handled their transition, we got back on defense and we limited them to one shot," Dixon said. After the Tar Heels' run, "we got mentally and physically drained. ... We saw a lot of things that we need to work on."

The Tar Heels led 71-41 after two free throws by May with 6:20 to play, and the rest of the game was essentially a demonstration of individual skills as players for both teams attempted highlight reel dunks and passes. North Carolina also scored the game's last 10 points.

At Champaign, Ill., Dee Brown had 19 points and all five Illini starters scored in double figures for the second straight game.Deron Williams scored 15 points, Roger Powell Jr. had 14, Luther Head added 11 points and nine assists, and James Augustine had 10 points and nine rebounds for Illinois (10-0). Dan Oppland had 16 points for the Crusaders (2-6).

At Hartford, Conn., Rashad Anderson scored 27 points and went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line over the final 2 minutes for the Huskies (5-1), who were coming off their first loss, a 61-59 upset at Massachusetts 10 days ago.Josh Boone added a career-high 20 points and dominated inside with 14 rebounds.Michael Harris had 22 points for the Owls (5-2).

At Seattle, Will Conroy and Tre Simmons each scored 12 points, and Brandon Roy returned earlier than expected from knee surgery to add 10 points for the Huskies (8-1), who are off to their best start in seven years.Simmons' three-point play on a breakaway layup put Washington ahead 66-61 with 22 seconds to go and he hit two free throws to seal it with 0.2 seconds left.Cameron Bennerman had 16 points for the Wolfpack (8-1).

At College Park, Md., John Gilchrist made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left in overtime to cap a 21-point, 13-rebound performance for the Terrapins (6-2)Adam Waleskowski had 23 points for the Seminoles (5-5), who committed 25 turnovers in losing their 25th ACC road game.