University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Visits Florida State On Monday
January 3, 2016 | Men's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
♦ North Carolina (13-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) will aim for its first road win of the season when it visits Florida State (10-3, 0-1) on Monday night in Tallahassee.
♦ The Tar Heels and Seminoles will tip off just after 7 p.m. in the Tucker Center.
♦ Carolina will be playing its fourth game in eight days after going 3-0 last week with home wins over UNCG, Clemson and Georgia Tech. FSU is trying to bounce back from an 84-75 loss at Clemson on Saturday.
♦ Sean McDonough (play-by-play) and Doris Burke (analyst) will call the game for an ESPN Big Monday national television audience.
TAR HEEL STORYLINES
♦ Carolina will be playing the first of back-to-back ACC road games this week, looking to start 3-0 in conference play on Monday before visiting Syracuse on Saturday.
♦ The Tar Heels are aiming for their fifth consecutive win over Florida State.
♦ Carolina is trying for its seventh win in a row, its 11th win in 12 games and its 14th victory of the season.
♦ UNC was ranked No. 7 in last week's Associated Press poll and No. 8 in the coaches poll. The new rankings will be released on Monday afternoon.
UP NEXT
♦ After Monday's visit to Tallahassee, Carolina will play at Syracuse on Saturday, then have a week off before its Jan. 16 home game with North Carolina State in the Smith Center.
♦ The Jan. 9 game at Syracuse will be at either 2 p.m. or 8 p.m. The Atlantic Coast Conference will announce the game time early this week.
A TAR HEEL WIN WOULD ...
♦ Improve UNC to 14-2, 3-0 ACC in 2015-16.
♦ Give the Tar Heels their fifth win in a row over the Seminoles.
♦ Make UNC 48-12 vs. FSU, including 17-5 in Tallahassee.
♦ Give Carolina its first road win of the season after non-conference road losses at Northern Iowa and Texas.
♦ Improve Roy Williams' career record as a head coach to 764-204 overall.
♦ Make Williams 346-103 at Carolina.
♦ Make Williams 19-5 overall against Florida State, including 18-5 at UNC.
A TAR HEEL LOSS WOULD ...
♦ Drop Carolina to 13-3, 2-1 ACC.
♦ Drop UNC to 0-3 on the road in 2015-16.
♦ Be Florida State's first win over Carolina since the 2012 ACC Tournament final in Atlanta (an 85-82 Seminole victory).
♦ Break Florida State's four-game losing streak to Carolina.
♦ Drop Roy Williams' career record to 763-205 overall.
♦ Make Williams 345-104 at Carolina.
TAR HEEL TIDBITS
TEAM NOTES
♦ Carolina ranks No. 3 in the nation in offensive efficiency (119.1) in the KenPom.com statistical rankings (through games of Jan. 2).
♦ The Tar Heels are third in the nation with an assist-turnover ratio of 1.8 and eighth nationally with 19.1 assists per game.
♦ Carolina has scored 80 or more points in 11 consecutive games and in 13 of 15 outings overall this season.
♦ The Tar Heels are 225-28 in 13 seasons under Roy Williams when they score at least 80 points (12-1 this season).
♦ The Tar Heels have scored 90 or more points six times already this season after doing so five times all of last year.
♦ Carolina has committed just 65 turnovers in the last seven games (9.3 per game).
♦ Carolina is averaging 10.6 turnovers per game in 2015-16. Last year, the Tar Heels averaged nearly 13 turnovers per contest.
♦ Carolina has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 11 of 15 games this year. The Tar Heels are shooting .501 as a team in 2015-16.
♦ The Tar Heels have shot 50 percent or better in the second half of 20 of their last 25 games (including 11 of 15 games in 2015-16).
♦ No Tar Heel player scored 25 points in a game last season, but the team has had four 25-point performances already this year by three different players: Justin Jackson (25 vs. Northern Iowa), Kennedy Meeks (25 vs. Temple) and Brice Johnson twice (25 vs. Tulane and 27 vs. UCLA).
♦ Carolina is ranked No. 13 in the nation in the KenPom.com statistical rankings. UNC is third in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (119.1) and is 67th in adjusted defensive efficiency (97.7).
♦ Florida State is 40th overall in the KenPom rankings, including 59th in offensive efficiency (108.4) and 41st in defensive efficiency (95.7).
PLAYER NOTES
♦ Kennedy Meeks missed his sixth straight game on Saturday vs. Georgia Tech due to a bruised bone in his left knee. He will not play at Florida State.
♦ Marcus Paige has scored 1,549 points entering the Florida State game, 26th in Carolina history. J.R Reid is 25th with 1,552 and Jeff Lebo is 24th with 1,567.
♦ Paige has made a three-pointer in a school-record 39 consecutive games (last 30 games of last season and his first eight games in 2015-16). The previous record was 34 games by Shammond Williams, Rashad McCants and Hubert Davis.
♦ Paige is the ACC's top active career scorer with 1,549 points and Brice Johnson is fourth with 1,267.
♦ Paige is the 12th Tar Heel to reach 500 career assists. He enters the Florida State game with 506.
♦ Paige is the second Tar Heel (with Jeff Lebo) and the 12th player in ACC history with at least 1,500 points, 500 assists, 150 steals and 200 three-pointers.
♦ Paige made one three-pointer vs. Georgia Tech to extend his career school record to 244.
♦ Paige has 32 assists and six turnovers in his nine games this year (an assist/turnover ratio of 5.33).
♦ Paige leads the Tar Heels with a three-point percentage of 42.2 (19 of 45). His career-best season is 39.5 percent, set last year.
♦ Over the last six games (since Kennedy Meeks' injury), Brice Johnson is averaging 18.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and is shooting 64.3 percent (45-70) from the field and Isaiah Hicks is averaging 12.3 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 75.0 percent (30-40).
♦ Johnson has eight double-doubles this season and is averaging 15.3 points and a team-high 9.7 rebounds per game. His previous career highs were 12.9 ppg and 7.8 rpg last season.
♦ Johnson leads the ACC in field goal percentage (62.0) and defensive rebounding (7.53 per game) and is fourth in overall rebounding (9.7 per game).
♦ Junior forward Isaiah Hicks has scored in double figures seven games in a row and is shooting 33 for 44 (.750) from the floor in that span.
♦ Joel Berry II has stepped into a starting role this season and improved across the board statistically, including scoring (4.2 to 12.5 ppg), field goal percentage (40.4 to 43.0), three-point percentage (35.4 to 36.9) and assists (1.5 to 4.4 per game).
♦ Berry has scored in double figures in 12 of 15 games this season. As a freshman he scored in double figures one time all year.
♦ Justin Jackson has 23 assists and only three turnovers in the last six games. His assist to turnover ratio for the season is 2.79 (53 to 19).
♦ Theo Pinson is 14 for 34 (.412) from three-point range this season. He made just seven three-pointers all year as a freshman in 2014-15.
PREVIEWING THE SEMINOLES
♦ Florida State is 10-3 this season and lost its ACC opener, 84-75, on Saturday at Clemson. Prior to that loss, the Seminoles had won six in a row.
♦ The guard duo of Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley leads the Seminoles offensively, with each wing averaging 17.2 points and over 5.0 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. FSU
♦ Carolina leads the series with Florida State, 47-12, including a 37-11 advantage since the Seminoles joined the ACC prior to the 1991-92 season.
♦ The Tar Heels have won 28 of the last 35 in the series, including 17 of the last 21.
♦ FSU's last win over Carolina was in the 2012 ACC Tournament championship game in Atlanta, an 85-82 Seminole triumph.
♦ Roy Williams is 17-5 vs. FSU as the UNC head coach and 18-5 overall (with one win at Kansas).
♦ Carolina leads the series, 16-5, in Tallahassee and has won seven of its last eight games vs. FSU in the Tucker Center.
♦ Several recent UNC wins in Tallahassee have been thrillers. In 2014, Carolina trailed FSU by 15 points in the first half but came back to win behind 23 points from Kennedy Meeks. In 2011, Harrison Barnes' three-pointer with 0:03 on the clock gave Carolina a 72-70 win. In 2009, Ty Lawson's running three-pointer at the buzzer gave UNC an 80-77 victory. In 2008, the Tar Heels beat FSU in overtime, 84-73. In 2006, The Tar Heels beat FSU 81-80 behind a big three-point shooting day by Wes Miller.
