After back-to-back wins, North Carolina can secure a spot in the ACC Tournament finals if it can get past Florida State on Friday night in Greensboro.
The Tar Heels are coming off an impressive 81-73 victory over No. 3 seed Virginia Tech on Thursday night in the Greensboro Coliseum. Carolina was led by freshman guard RJ Davis, who finished with a season-high 19 points, while sophomore forward Armando Bacot secured his third double-double in the last four games pitching in 17 points and 13 boards.
Up next for UNC is another matchup with No. 2 seed Florida State, which the Tar Heels faced twice in the regular season, losing to the Seminoles in Tallahassee, 82-75, on Jan. 15 before beating them in Chapel Hill, 78-70, on Feb. 27.
FSU enters Friday night’s game having not yet played in the tournament. A two seed, the Seminoles had a double-bye before being scheduled to face No. 10 seed Duke on Thursday night in the quarterfinals.
The game was cancelled that morning, however, due to a positive COVID test within the Blue Devils’ program, which subsequently ended their season. So, the Seminoles will be playing their first game in this year’s tournament while the Tar Heels are playing for the third straight night, something UNC Coach Roy Williams has never experienced.
“No, it's one of those things - most of the time, when somebody says have you ever done this, I say yes, but I don't know that I've ever faced this situation here,” Williams said, following his team’s win Thursday night.
“It makes no difference. We're still playing, and at the end of the game, the team that scores the most points is going to be declared the winner, whether it's your third game in a row or your first game. They play a lot of guys. We'll try to play a lot of guys, too. 18, 19, 20, 21-year-olds aren't supposed to get tired anyway.”
Florida State finished the regular season at 15-5 overall and 11-4 in ACC play. The Seminoles played just 20 of their 25 originally scheduled games due to postponements.
The Seminoles are led by senior guard and second-team All-ACC selection MJ Walker, who leads the team in points with 13.1 per game. Junior forward and third-team All-ACC selection Raiquan Gray is second on the team in points with 12.4 and leads FSU in rebounds with 6.9.
ACC Freshman and Sixth Man of the Year Scottie Barnes is another key member of Florida State’s rotation, averaging 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Barnes also leads the team in steals with 1.5 per game.
The Heels are familiar with the Seminoles and aware of the challenge in front of them. But it comes down to playing well, they say.
“We're still playing and, at the end of the game, the team that scores the most points is going to be declared the winner, whether it's your third game in a row or your first game,” Williams said. “They play a lot of guys, we’ll try to play a lot of guys, too. Eighteen, 19, 20, 21-year-olds aren't supposed to get tired anyway.”
For Davis, who is averaging 16.5 points in 22 minutes per in UNC’s two ACC Tournament games, playing up to this team’s potential is the key to getting past the Seminoles.
“We have to come out playing Carolina basketball,” Davis said. “We played them twice so far, so we know a couple of their plays and how they play, so we're familiar with how they play. We just have to come out and play with some heart.”
Despite another quick turnaround, junior guard Leaky Black thinks this Carolina team will be ready for FSU due to the intense practices he and his teammates have been put through all season.
"I feel like it's a challenge, but I feel like we're up for it,” Black said. “We practice every day and honestly, I feel like half the time our practices have been harder than our games. You really just feel battle-tested.
“I feel like we've got the ball rolling right now and I don't think we're going to stop.”
The Tar Heels enter Friday night’s contest as a 2.5-point underdog, with tipoff set for 8:30 pm. The game will be televised on ESPN.
