Tar Heels Roll Past FSU, 92-67, Into ACC Semifinals

Thursday, March 14

Washington, D.C.

Noon

North Carolina

26-6,17-3ACC

Florida State (Quarterfinal)

17-16,10-10ACC

Florida St.

North Carolina

RJ Davis

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

March 14, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Top-seeded North Carolina dominated defensively and blew past ninth-seeded Florida State, 92-67, on Thursday afternoon in an ACC Tournament quarterfinal at Capital One Arena.

UNC out-rebounded the Seminoles, 48-22, and limited FSU to 41 percent shooting, including 25 percent from three-point range. Carolina had a 26-6 edge in fast break points.

"I was just really proud of the guys," UNC head coach Hubert Davis said. "At the beginning, we talked about what will allow us to have success against a really good Florida State team, and we needed to get after it defensively.

"We needed to rebound the basketball, and we also talked about doing a better job of making the easy play and limiting turnovers, because the last time we played them we had 17 turnovers, and I feel like that we definitely checked two of the boxes. Just their effort, energy, attention to detail defensively was good, and for us to dominate the boards on both ends, I thought that was a huge key for us in allowing them to be successful out there on the floor.

With the victory, the Tar Heels advance to Friday night's 7 p.m. semifinal against the winner of the game between No. 4 seed Pitt and No. 5 seed Wake Forest.

Fourth-ranked Carolina (26-6) closed the first half on a 20-7 run and never looked back, expanding its lead to as many as 27 points in the second half. The Tar Heels have won seven games in a row.

The Seminoles never threatened after halftime and fell to 17-16 with the defeat.

RJ Davis led Carolina with 18 points. Armando Bacot posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season and the UNC-record 83rd of his career. Cormac Ryan scored 14 points while hitting 3 of 4 three-point attempts, and Seth Trimble had 12 points and five rebounds, hitting 4 of 7 field goal tries in 18 minutes.

Elliot Cadeau set the tone for the Tar Heels in the first half with four points, three assists, three assists and a blocked shot in 14 minutes before halftime. His bloody knee from repeated dives to the floor for loose balls was indicative of UNC's gritty, focused effort overall. Cadeau finished with eight points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals.

"My mindset was just to play hard," Cadeau told ESPN after the game. "We really want to win this tournament, so I just wanted to do what I could to win this game. I haven't ever played for a team like this in my life. For everyone to know their role, the chemistry out on the court, it's just crazy."

"It's infectious," RJ Davis said of Cadeau's floor-burning effort. "I think Elliot did a good job of just diving on loose balls, getting the 50/50 balls. At the same time, he made it easier for his teammates. Coach Davis always says, we don't always have to live in the secondary break, we can live in the primary. And I think he did a good job of using speed to get into the lane, making lay-ups, and I think he did a good job of just playing an all-around basketball game today."

How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina hit 6 of 8 field goal tries during one stretch midway through the half and forced FSU to miss 12 of its first 20 shots. UNC led just 20-18 with 8:00 left in the half, however, largely due to five early turnovers.
• The Tar Heels used a 6-0 run to take its biggest lead at 32-23 with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
• UNC went on a 20-7 run in 2:45 to take a 46-30 lead at the half. Carolina's defense held FSU scoreless for over 3:00 late in the period.
• Cadeau starred in the first half with four points, a rebound, three assists, three steals and a bloody knee from diving on the floor for loose balls.
• Bacot led all players with 12 points and seven rebounds in the first half, and Davis had 11 points, three assists and two rebounds. Ingram had nine points and six boards.
• Carolina shot 51.6 percent as a team in the half while holding FSU to 41.4 percent.
• The Tar Heels posted first-half advantages in rebounds (22-6), points in the paint (22-10), fast break points (13-2) and points off turnovers (17-5).

Second Half
• Ryan and Davis hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Tar Heels their biggest lead at 62-41, forcing a Seminole timeout with 14:28 to go.
• Carolina never looked back, leading by as many as 27 in the final minute.
• UNC shot 52.9 percent in the second half and 52.3 percent in the game.

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament for a record 27th time.
• Bacot played in his 164th career game and made his 163rd career start. He has started more games than anyone else in ACC history has played.
• Carolina is 56-16 all-time against the Seminoles, including three wins this season and five in a row. The Tar Heels are 6-3 against FSU in the ACC Tournament and 13-4 at neutral sites.
• UNC beat FSU, 78-70, in Chapel Hill and 75-68 in Tallahassee earlier this season.
• Carolina is 49-14 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, 22-0 in the quarterfinals as the top seed and 52-15 overall as the No. 1 seed.
• The Tar Heels are 107-51 all-time in ACC Tournament play, including 5-1 in Washington, D.C.
• UNC has led by double figures in 19 of 21 games against ACC foes this season.
• UNC has won 15 games in a row when leading at halftime and is 55-5 under head coach Hubert Davis when leading at the break.
• Carolina has out-rebounded its opponents in 21 consecutive games, going 18-3 in that stretch.

Up Next
Carolina advances to Friday's ACC semifinals and will play the winner of No. 4 seed Pitt and No. 5 seed Wake Forest at 7 p.m.

Follow Tar Heel basketball on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.