NEW YORK -- The value of having four days off before starting its quest for its 19th ACC tournament title was evident for top-seeded North Carolina in its quarterfinal matchup with Miami on Thursday.

The sixth-ranked Tar Heels (27-6) were well rested and their fresh legs were the difference in the second half of North Carolina's 78-53 win over the Hurricanes at the Barclays Center.

Isaiah Hicks led four players in double figures with 19 points. The Tar Heels advanced to the semifinals on Friday, where they will meet the winner of the Duke-Louisville quarterfinal match.

Miami led for only 4:20 early in the first half.

Hicks was 5 of 7 from the floor and 9 for 9 from the line to help North Carolina win for the seventh time in its last nine games. It avenged a 77-62 loss to Miami in the regular season.

Justin Jackson, the ACC Player of the Year, scored 12 points, including 10 in the decisive second half. Joel Berry II added 11 points with five assists and Kennedy Meeks tossed in 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Bruce Brown, one of Miami's four true freshmen, led the Hurricanes (21-11) with 21 points.

Nine players scored for North Carolina, which shot 53 percent from the floor and made 15 of 18 free throws.

North Carolina held just a 34-29 lead at the break, but its crispness resulted in coach Roy Williams' squad outscoring Miami 44-24 in the second half.

"First half, we gave them too many open drives and open shots," Williams said. "Second half, you have to think about their legs first."

North Carolina held Miami to just 30 percent from the floor in the second half, outrebounding the Hurricanes 24-16 in the last 20 minutes.

Williams was able to rest his regulars, despite the layoff since Carolina defeated Duke in the regular-season finale on Saturday.

"I always think that depth is extremely important to us," said Williams. "Our guys work really, really hard. As hard as they work, I do want to get almost everybody in every game, and they deserve it.

"I do think I'd rather have Kennedy's (Meeks) backup playing as opposed to Kennedy playing tired, and I think that same thing with Joel (Berry). If Joel is tired, I want somebody else in there. I think a fresh player is really more effective for our team, and I also think it makes them work harder and practice every day and helps the morale of the team.

"But I like having depth, there's no question."

Miami went close to five minutes without a made basket, missing seven shots, while the Tar Heels were busy on a 14-1 blitz to take a commanding 71-47 cushion with 3:39 to play.

The Tar Heels built their lead to 62-46 on a 3-pointer from Theo Pinson that was intended as an alley-oop for Jackson with 8:4 2to play.

Miami climbed to within 34-31 early in the second half, but was outscored 14-5, highlighted by two dunks from Hicks.

"I would look at Carolina and think they're a real threat to win the national championship, and yet we split with them," said Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga. "I mean, I know we played bad today, but we're very capable of playing a whole lot better than we did.

"At the offensive end, we're not quite as consistent as we are defensively, and if we share the ball well and get some assists and don't turn it over very much, we'll be a tough team to beat."

North Carolina was effective getting to the line in the first half, going 11 for 11, for a 34-29 edge.

The Tar Heels' second substantial burst of the first half, a 10-2 lift, extended their lead to 27-18.

A 15-3 run over the span of 6:20 enabled the Tar Heels to take a 21-14 lead with 9:09 left in the half. Six different players scored in the sequence for North Carolina.

NOTES: Miami G Davon Reed was named the ACC's top scholar-athlete. He is also one of four of the league's top 20 scorers to be named to the 2017 All-ACC Academic Team. ... Miami won the ACC tournament in 2013, defeating North Carolina 87-77 in the title game for its first championship. ... The Tar Heels are the top seed in the tournament for the 26th time, and it's the 10th time they have won 14 ACC regular-season games. ... North Carolina is the only school to win the ACC tournament in every decade since play began in 1954.