ESPN Men's Basketball

ATLANTA -- North Carolina junior point guard Ty Lawson didn't play against Virginia Tech in the ACC quarterfinal at the Georgia Dome because of a jammed right toe.

North Carolina officials made the announcement prior to the noon Friday tip-off. North Carolina beat Virginia Tech 79-76 in the first-round game.

Lawson, the ACC player of the year, walked out with his teammates for warm-ups but was wearing a protective black boot on his right foot.

Lawson injured the toe in practice prior to Sunday's regular-season victory against Duke at Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels started senior guard Bobby Frasor in Lawson's place.

Atlantic Coast Conference staff member Brian Morrison said it was the first time an ACC player of the year missed his team's tournament opener.

Lawson's absence could have been a huge boost to Virginia Tech, which desperately needed to beat the Tar Heels to improve its chances at gaining an NCAA at-large berth.

The Hokies (18-14) also lost to the top-seeded Tar Heels (27-3) in Blacksburg, Va., 86-78 on March 4. Lawson played 35 minutes in that game, scoring 22 points with five assists and one turnover. Lawson got to the line, too, for 8 of 12 free throws and made 7 of 13 shots.

Lawson played 36 minutes against Duke despite the nagging injury. He scored 13 points and had nine assists and four turnovers.

The Tar Heels are likely safe for an anticipated NCAA tournament No. 1 seed, which makes resting Lawson a sensible move. The Tar Heels are expected to begin the NCAAs in Greensboro, N.C., next Thursday.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.