Lucas: FSU Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Tough one in Tallahassee, as Carolina made some bad choices down the stretch and lost to a good Florida State team, 82-75.

2. Carolina missed several opportunities to take control of that game. The Tar Heels had a breakout with under eight minutes left in a three-point game, and had several occasions throughout the afternoon when they had the ball in a one-possession game and were unable to convert. You simply can't miss that many chances against a good team--especially a good team that is nearly perfect from the free throw line.

3. Those free throws were decisive. For one of the very few times in the Roy Williams era, an opponent significantly outscored Carolina at the free throw line. Florida State not only were much more proficient at getting to the line (they attempted 27 free throws to Carolina's 15), but they were also nearly perfect when they got the opportunity, finishing 26-27.

4. Great to see Anthony Harris make his first appearance of the season during the second half. Harris, who has been working his way back from his second torn ACL--which he suffered last season against Yale--immediately drew the defensive assignment on Florida State's hot-shooting M.J. Walker. With Harris, the Tar Heel backcourt suddenly looks a little crowded, and it will be interesting to see how those minutes sort themselves out. Harris made significant offensive and defensive contributions in his limited time and finished a team-high +11 for the game.

5. Kerwin Walton continues to develop. The Minnesota freshman is clearly the best shooter in the rotation at the moment, and he's showing a maturing offensive game that is more than just three-pointers. Walton came into the game with 43 points in his last four games and pumped in 14 more against the Seminoles. A sobering thought: imagine this Tar Heel team without Walton, who was the final addition to his recruiting class.

6. What does it mean to say Carolina needs to get better playmaking? In the last four games, Carolina has amassed 65 assists. Just 11 of those were courtesy of RJ Davis and Caleb Love. In that same stretch, for example, Garrison Brooks--a post player--has ten assists by himself. Leaky Black has 16. A perfect example of the struggles initiating the offense came with seven minutes left, when Love had the right idea to throw a bounce pass to Garrison Brooks in the paint, but the execution was poor, and the opportunistic Seminoles of course turned it into two points at the other end. You simply can't make that pass with that level of casualness against a team as good as Florida State in a close game.

7. Roy Williams encouraged his team this week in practice to attack Florida State's defensive pressure. When Carolina plays well against the Seminoles, that's often how they do it--by dissecting an aggressive defense and getting easy baskets. But the Tar Heels were largely unable to use FSU's defensive aggression against them, as Leonard Hamilton's team had more fast break points (18-6) and Tar Heel turnovers played a big role in several key stretches of the game.

8. You can slowly see the light turning on for Caleb Love as far as shooting the ball. The freshman point guard doesn't do everything right in terms of playmaking and still has some defensive strides to make. But he's now connected on at least one three-point in five straight games and has made eight of his last 22 three-point shots over the last five games. That might not sound great, but prior to that he was 4-for-34 from the arc.

9. You likely wouldn't have guessed that Carolina would keep the game close at Florida State with outside shooting. The Tar Heels were 10-24 from three, with Walton sinking four of them and Love adding three. The Heels also got good scoring from RJ Davis, who had a team-high 16 points on an efficient six-of-nine performance. Davis now has two straight double-figure performances after scoring a combined ten points in his previous three games.

10. Carolina was outrebounded for just the second time this season (Kentucky was the other). FSU held a 30-29 edge on the boards, as Day'Ron Sharpe led Carolina with six rebounds.

11. The Tar Heels got a break catching Florida State without the injured Scottie Barnes. The dynamic Barnes, who was injured in the Noles' win over NCSU earlier this week, is a very difficult matchup. It's true that Leonard Hamilton has plenty of depth, but the rangy Barnes has some unique qualities that you can't just replace off the bench.

12. Florida State is pretty clearly the best ACC team Carolina has played. The Tar Heels who lost at NC State and Georgia Tech would have lost this game handily. Carolina has strides to make--but they are improving. It's frustrating to be that close and not turn it into a victory, but if Carolina continues an upward arc, they can take advantage of a rare two-home game week this coming week.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Leaky Black

Garrison Brooks

RJ Davis

Anthony Harris

Caleb Love

Day'Ron Sharpe

Kerwin Walton

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