Tar Heels Win 10th In A Row, 75-68 At FSU

Saturday, January 27

Tallahassee, Fla.

2 PM

North Carolina

17-3,9-0ACC

Florida State

12-8,6-3ACC

North Carolina

Florida St.

RJ Davis

January 27, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.—RJ Davis scored 24 points and freshman Elliot Cadeau added a season-high 16 with six assists to lead third-ranked North Carolina to a 75-68 win at Florida State on Saturday afternoon in the Tucker Center. With the victory, UNC solidified its grip on first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference ahead of second-place FSU.

Harrison Ingram tallied 13 points and 17 rebounds for his sixth double-double this season and his sixth double-digit rebounding game in the last eight outings. He leads the ACC in rebounding in conference action.

The Tar Heels (17-3, 9-0 ACC) have won 10 straight games, last losing six weeks ago on December 16 against Kentucky. Florida State, which had won six of its last seven contests and entered the game in second place in the conference standings, fell to 12-8, 6-3.

The last time UNC started the ACC season 9-0 was in 2000-01. Carolina's 10-game winning streak is its longest since winning 11 in a row over the last six games in 2016-17 and the first five in 2017-18.

The win is UNC's 750th all-time ACC victory, making it the first school to 750.

In the final minute with the game on the line, Davis sunk a tough bucket in the lane to give Carolina a 72-68 lead with 44 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Ingram blocked a Jamir Watkins shot, which led to a pair of Davis free throws on the other end to make it 74-68.

Carolina's defense forced FSU to miss 8 of its last 9 shots, holding the 'Noles scoreless for the final 2:36 of the game.

The Tar Heels swept the season series with FSU and have swept at least one ACC opponent in all years of the conference's existence (starting in 1953-54).

Earlier this season in Chapel Hill in the ACC opener for both teams, Carolina rallied from 14 points down with 17:11 to play to beat the Seminoles, 78-70, on December 2. On Saturday, the Tar Heels overcame an eight-point, second-half deficit to emerge victorious.

Carolina hit 19 of 24 free throw attempts while limiting FSU to just 11 attempts at the line (making only five). The Tar Heels hit 8 of 21 three-point attempts (38.1 percent), including four in each half. Ingram and Cormac Ryan each hit three from long range to go with Davis' two.

How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina led by as many as 11 at 19-8 before the Seminoles clawed back and led, 41-36, at halftime.
• FSU got 21 first-half bench points, including 10 each from Watkins and Primo Spears, to just seven bench points in the first half from UNC.
• Florida State hit 7 of 12 three-pointers (58.3 percent) in the opening 20 minutes.
• Carolina out-rebounded FSU, 21-14, with 10 of those rebounds coming from Ingram.
• UNC committed 12 first-half turnovers, leading to a 19-3 edge in points off turnovers for FSU.

Second Half
• Carolina made 9 of its first 11 shots (81.8 percent) coming out of halftime, including hitting 3 of 5 three-pointers.
• The Tar Heels went on a 10-0 run to take a 61-52 lead but soon thereafter missed 9 of 10 shots to let the Seminoles back into the game.

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• The Tar Heels are 55-16 in their history against Florida State, including four consecutive wins in the series and 13 in the last 17 meetings.
• Carolina is 19-8 against FSU in Tallahassee, all at the Tucker Center.
• Carolina is 9-0 in ACC play and has held all nine opponents to 70 points or fewer.
• Dating back to last season, the Tar Heels have held ACC teams under 70 points 21 times in the last 27 games (regular season and ACC Tournament games).
• UNC has led by double figures in all nine of its ACC games and has won seven of its last eight by double digits.
• Carolina has held its opponents below 40 percent shooting from the floor in 24 of 40 halves this season. Last season, UNC held opponents under 40 percent shooting in 12 of the first 40 halves.
• UNC has held 10 consecutive opponents to 70 points or fewer for the first time since doing it 10 times in a row in 2006-07.
• The Tar Heels have out-rebounded their opponents in nine straight games.
• Armando Bacot had three defensive rebounds, giving him 1,001 in his career. UNC's all-time leading rebounder, he is the first Tar Heel ever with 1,000 defensive boards.
• Davis hit two of eight three-pointers, his 17th consecutive game with multiple threes. That is the longest streak in UNC history.
• Davis registered his 13th 20-point effort in 20 games this season.

Up Next
Carolina will return to the road at Georgia Tech on Tuesday January 30. UNC's next home game will be on Saturday February 3 against Duke.

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