Henri Veesaar matched his career high with 26 points as No. 18 North Carolina pulled away from Virginia Tech in the second half for an 89-82 victory on Saturday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Seth Trimble put up 20 points as the Tar Heels (23-6, 11-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) won for the fourth time in their last five games without top scorer and rebounder Caleb Wilson, a star freshman who is out with a broken left hand.

Reserves Jonathan Powell and Zayden High added 15 and 12 points, respectively, as the North Carolina bench outscored its counterparts from Virginia Tech 32-13.

The Tar Heels shot 55.8% from the floor (29 of 52) as they remained perfect at home, marking the first season they’ve won their first 17 home games since the Dean E. Smith Center opened 40 years ago.

Veesaar also pulled down seven rebounds to help North Carolina to a 34-22 edge on the boards and an 11-2 margin on second-chance points.

Neo Avdalas supplied 19 points and five assists for Virginia Tech (18-11, 7-9), which came up short of gaining its third Quad 1 victory in its pursuit of a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Tobi Lawal and Ben Hammond scored 16 points apiece and Amani Hansberry provided 11 points in 19 minutes before fouling out for the Hokies, who have not won at North Carolina since 2007.

After a 3-pointer by Virginia Tech’s Jaden Schutt tied it 57-57 with 13:51 left, North Carolina took the lead for good with a seven-point run.

Veesaar triggered it with a two-handed slam off an alley-oop feed from Powell, who followed with a 3-pointer. Trimble finished off the burst, spinning free off his dribble for a driving layup that made it 64-57.

A 3-pointer by Veesaar with 6:22 left gave North Carolina a 76-65 lead, which matched its largest of the game.

In the first half, the teams traded nine-point runs and finished a fast-paced period tied 44-44.

The Tar Heels’ run came midway through the half and was fueled by reserves including Kyan Evans, who drilled a 3-pointer to cap the burst and give North Carolina a 21-16 lead.

Powell later made a triple to give the Tar Heels the biggest lead of the half at 30-22.

But the Hokies answered with a 9-0 spurt triggered by a 3-pointer from Schutt.

–Field Level Media

Philadelphia star center Joel Embiid underwent an MRI on Saturday that revealed a strained right oblique and he will miss at least three games before being re-evaluated, the 76ers announced.

Embiid, 31, was injured during Philadelphia’s 124-117 home win over the Miami Heat on Thursday, when he still played 31 minutes and totaled 26 points and 11 rebounds.

A seven-time All-Star with a history of injuries, Embiid will be sidelined for Sunday’s game against the host Boston Celtics as well as back-to-back home games against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday and the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

The 76ers are 33-26, and Embiid has played in 33 games (all starts) this season, averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 31.2 minutes. Philadelphia is 21-12 with him and 12-14 without him.

Embiid was limited to 19 games last season because of an ailing left knee and had surgery in April. He began this season on a minutes restriction because of the knee, and he was out for five games in February because of knee and shin issues.

For his career, Embiid is averaging 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.8 minutes in 485 regular-season games (all starts).

He also has averaged 24.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 blocks and 35.3 minutes in 59 playoff games (all starts).

Embiid was the league’s Most Valuable Player for the 2022-23 season and was voted All-NBA first team in 2022-23 and second team four other times. He’s a three-time All-Defensive team second-team pick. Philadelphia made him the third overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft out of Kansas.

–Field Level Media

Thomas Haugh scored 22 points, Ruben Chinyelu had 12 points and 16 rebounds for his 17th double-double, and No. 7 Florida clinched the Southeastern Conference regular-season title with a 111-77 rout of No. 20 Arkansas in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday.

Alex Condon scored 17 points, Urban Klavzar and Boogie Fland scored 14 apiece and Xaivian Lee added 13 as the Gators (23-6, 14-2 SEC) placed seven players in double figures in their highest scoring game of the season.

The defending champion Gators lead second-place No. 17 Alabama (22-7, 12-4) by two games with two games left, and they own the tiebreaker after a 100-79 victory in their lone regular-season meeting.

Florida has won a season-high nine in a row — eight by at least 13 points — and is a projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Billy Richmond scored 22 points and Darius Acuff Jr. added 17 for the Razorbacks (21-8, 11-5), who had won five of six. They are a projected No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Acuff, the SEC’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game, had a streak of nine straight 20-point games broken. He was 6 of 19 from the field.

Florida led by at least 24 in the final 15 minutes and stretched its advantage to 37 on Condon’s layup in the final three minutes.

The Gators secured their first regular-season title since 2013-14, when they also won the SEC tournament.

Florida shot 56.5% from the field and had a 51-31 rebounding advantage. Condon had six rebounds and Haugh had five. The Gators led the nation with a plus-14.1 rebound margin.

The Razorbacks shot 40.0% from the field.

Florida coach Todd Golden and Arkansas coach John Calipari were hit with double technical fouls with 17:27 left with the Gators holding a 23-point lead.

Klavzar kickstarted the Gators with two 3-pointers and Condon added a dunk in a 12-0 run to give Florida a 23-16 lead nine minutes in.

Lee made three layups later in the first half and Isaiah Brown (11 points) hit two 3-pointers and a transition dunk to push the Gators’ lead to 51-27 with 2:33 left in the first half.

Florida led 53-34 at half, when it totaled 32 points in the paint.

–Field Level Media