UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Florida St. 75-68 Win
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Battles Back in a Slugfest and Outlast the Seminoles for a Great Road Win and Earned Their Ninth Straight ACC Victory
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team which is in first place in the ACC, faced off against Florida State, the number two team in ACC, on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels got off to a good start in this game and jumped out to an early 19-8 lead. Elliott Cadeau was excellent early, controlling the game with his pace and flow, with his dribble penetration either scoring inside or dishing it out to his teammate for a basket. The Heels were great with their ball movement and were getting great shots every time down the floor. However, Florida State would not go away. With a double-digit lead, the Heels got lackadaisical defensively with their perimeter defense and allowed the Seminoles to catch a rhythm offensively.
Eight different Florida State players would score during their run to bring the game back within reach. The Seminoles also hit 9 threes and had 19 points off turnovers. During the last ten minutes of the first half, UNC got very sloppy with the ball and committed 12 turnovers, which allowed Florida State to get back into the game. Florida State outplayed the Heels for the final six minutes of the halftime after the Tar Heels defense dropped off. UNC offensively started to play uncharacteristic basketball with their decision-making and shot selection. The Seminoles would outscore Carolina 16-8 to end the half and take a 5-point lead going into intermission.
In the second half, North Carolina came out much more aggressive on both ends of the floor. On defense, the Heels picked up their intensity and played stifling on-ball and off-the-ball defense, completely disrupting everything Florida State was doing well offensively in the first half. Offensively, North Carolina relentlessly attacked the basket in transition and in the halfcourt. This aggressiveness getting downhill for the Tar Heels was sparked by RJ Davis and Elliott Cadeau, who Florida State had trouble keeping outside the paint all game long. The Heels would go on a 15-4 run to take the lead back in the game and be in the bonus for the remaining 14:50 left in the game.
North Carolina had taken complete control of the game and over the next few minutes would push their lead to as much as 10 as they continued to attack the basket at will and have tremendous success doing so. Cormac Ryan hit three big 3-pointers during this stretch and Harrison Ingram was doing everything on both ends of the floor with his ability to defend multiple positions, rebound at an extremely high level, and make timely baskets. Florida State fought all game long to stay in the game and it was no different down the stretch.
Late in the game, the Seminoles got the lead down to 2 after some stagnant offensive basketball and defensive lapses from the Tar Heels. However, with 43 seconds left in the game, RJ Davis who has been the Tar Heels best offensive player, hit the biggest shot of the game with a floater in the paint to give UNC a four-point lead. On the very next play, Harrison Ingram had the biggest play of the game with a huge block to stop Florida State and help give the Heels ball back up 4. RJ Davis would seal the game over the next couple of possessions with some clutch free throws and lead the way for the Tar Heels’ tenth consecutive victory, moving them to 9-0 in conference play after the hard-fought win over the Seminoles.
UNC Game Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| 3 North Carolina 17-3 | 36 | 39 | 75 |
| Florida State 12-8 | 41 | 27 | 68 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| R. Davis | 24 | 3 | 1 | 9/18 | 2/8 | 4/5 | 3 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| E. Cadeau | 16 | 2 | 6 | 4/12 | 0/1 | 8/9 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| H. Ingram | 13 | 17 | 1 | 4/8 | 3/4 | 2/2 | 2 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| C. Ryan | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3/9 | 3/8 | 1/2 | 4 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| A. Bacot | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| S. Trimble | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 3/4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Washington | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Wojcik | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Z. High | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Withers | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Farris | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Okonkwo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| R. Landry | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| C. Lebo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 75 | 38 | 11 | 24/58 | 8/21 | 19/24 | 16 | – | 5 | 2 | 17 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| J. Watkins | 12 | 3 | 2 | 3/12 | 2/4 | 4/5 | 4 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| D. Green Jr. | 12 | 4 | 1 | 5/10 | 2/5 | 0/1 | 2 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Warley | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| B. Miller | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1/4 | 1/2 | 0/2 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| D. Green | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1/3 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| P. Spears | 15 | 4 | 3 | 6/15 | 3/4 | 0/0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| C. Jackson | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4/5 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| C. Corhen | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Bol Bowen | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2/4 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Gainey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. House | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Nickelberry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| M. Brown | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Simpson | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| S. Adebisi | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| W. Mbatch | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Jones | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| C. Fletcher | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| I. Spainhour | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| M. Thorpe | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 68 | 28 | 10 | 27/62 | 9/20 | 5/11 | 22 | – | 11 | 4 | 14 |
UNC Bright Spots
RJ Davis had 24 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal.
Elliott Cadeau had 16 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds.
Harrison Ingram had 13 points, 17 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block, and 1 assist.
Cormac Ryan had 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Needs Work
So far this season, North Carolina has done a great job at taking care of the ball offensively. However, in this game, they had 17 turnovers, which is totally unacceptable. The Tar Heels cannot afford to be sloppy and careless with the basket because it allows their opponent to hang around and gain confidence.
Coming into this game, the Heels were holding their ACC opponents to 22% from the three-point line. In this game, they were lackadaisical with their perimeter defense and allowed too many open threes, which allowed Florida State to hit 9 threes at 45%. In the second half, they were much better defending three, but need to make sure they do not allow any three-point explosions in one half going forward.
UNC needs to make sure they continue to move the ball offensively and not have stretches when they’re stagnant and overdribbling, which leads to bad shots. They’re at their best when they’re sharing the ball and are in constant motion offensively.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels improve to 17-3 on the season and extend their winning streak to 10, while being 9-0 in ACC play. The Heels have started 9-0 ACC play for the first time since 2001 and are looking like one of North Carolina’s best teams in a long time with how dominant they have become defensively and their ability to close out games. For the second time this year, the Tar Heels have overcome a deficit at halftime to beat the Seminoles. UNC continues to impress with the way they win games. Their defense continues to be the major focus of the team as their streak of holding their opponents under 70 extends to 10 straight.
The Heels are continuing to get better with each game and new guys are becoming more confident each time they take the floor. Elliott Cadeau had a breakout game, scoring the ball in this game with 16 points. Cadeau’s ability to attack to paint and blow by his man with his quick first step is becoming a true strength that he is starting to use against each opponent. Cadeau continuing to become more confident scoring the ball offensively only makes this team more dangerous offensively because they have already been one of the top offenses in the nation thus far. Combine that with them already being a top 5 defense in the country. The Tar Heels will continue to cement themselves as one of the top 3 teams in the nation. Next up is Georgia Tech on Tuesday, January 30 at 7:00 P.M. on ESPN.