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Chapel Hill, N.C. – North Carolina applied the channels to Florida State, a team renowned for its defense, limiting the Seminoles shooting to 30% and limiting them to one shot on all but six possessions throughout the match. The Tar Heels limited the game to seven goals on the field in the second half, while Carolina opened the way for a sometimes tense fight in the first half. The state of Florida ensured that the UNC worked for its points, but the Tar Heels dominated the last 11 minutes to win the 77-59 win and break the CCA winning streak against all eight games Seminoles.
Cam Johnson and Luke Maye led the UNC scoring and bouncing, each producing a double double; Johnson finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Maye added 15 and 11. Nevertheless, it was the game of rookie Nassir Little that probably made the biggest difference in the game, and it only missed two rebounds to give the Tar Heels their third double double performer. The rookie added 18 points in 23 minutes of play. Little, who grew up in Florida, threw two resounding dunks, one on a drive in the first half and the other on a rebound in second. The two dunks ignited the partisan crowd at the Smith Center. Little finished with eight rebounds, his highest level of the season, winning the honors of his coach. "Nassir was huge for us," said Williams. "I think Nassir really helps us. He had a record where he had soaked it faster than anyone else and that's what he can do. but he was beaten. "
Williams listed in detail the injuries of his very popular freshman. "Sake, he sprained his ankle, injured his sternum, he was injured before it all started. I'm just happier that he's a little healthier. And he was better today too.
North Carolina, who fired 2-20 points over the three-point arc in Wednesday's big win at Duke, slowly started again from three. While the state of Florida was applying pressure on most two-point shots early, Carolina baskets early in the game were rare. But the Tar Heels increased their cold shots early with aggressive work on the offensive board. Cam Johnson tipped to give UNC a 17-13 lead. A few minutes later, Little scored a hard blow to stretch Tar Heel's lead to 26-15. But Florida State added six balls in the first 20 minutes of the match to reduce Carolina's lead to 37-34 at the half.
The UNC offensive began to regularize after the intermission. Coby White, silent in the first period, scored three quick baskets, including one in transition, to give the Talons a 48-38 lead early in the second. Leonard Hamilton, the USF coach, called the timeout. Then the Seminoles slowly got to work and took the lead. A tripling of Terrence Mann, a Mann command, a David Nichols tripled – which led FSU with 16 points – and a hat-trick of RaiQuan Gray brought the Noles to 56-52. But it's as close as the state of Florida would have ever had.
Maye started the breakaway with a three point shot from the clutch. Little followed with a rider overturning, igniting the crowd again. When Maye set up three more long points that bounced off the backcourt, UNC suddenly led to 12. Carolina continued to apply pressure at both ends. Johnson hit a three to reach 67-52; Johnson for the game was 3-4 from behind while the Tar Heels finally scored 5-9 in the third half after starting the score 2-11. Then Little talked a lot about the slam rebound and a whole series of free throws. UNC dominated Florida State 21-7 in the last 11 minutes of the game.
But again, Carolina's victory was much more than an offensive. Florida State made 7-28 shots in the second half, 25%. The FSU had an impact beyond the bow with 10 three pointers, but the Seminoles needed 31 shots to pass those 10. And, what's impressive, the UNC has limited the FSU to only 8-28 from the inside of the bow throughout the game. But do not expect Williams to marvel at the UNC defense at this point of the season. "In general, they do not shoot at 30%," observed Williams. "We were lucky to have gotten them today in a match that was missing a lot of shots."
The rebound of UNC exceeded the defensive effort. Although Williams would have liked to have a bigger margin in second chance (UNC 15 FSU 9), the fact is that the State of Florida missed 40 shots and the Tar Heels captured 34, for a percentage of defensive rebound of 83 %, well above average team per season.
Some had suggested that it could be a trap game for the Tar Heels after the 88-72 win over Duke. In fact, Williams was also concerned about the consequences of Duke. "When we got back here Wednesday night before I let them off the bus, I told them we did good things, we had a W, but keep playing or you return it." Williams said it was probably hard this week, more than ever.
UNC, winning, remains in a tie with Virginia and Duke at the top of the 12-2 ACC. The state of Florida, which started season 1-4 of ACC, falls for the first time in a month. The Seminoles are 9-5. Syracuse, who lost to Duke 75-65 on Saturday night, heads to Chapel Hill on Tuesday.
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