Tar Heels Head To FSU Seeking Fourth Straight Win

• The Tar Heels return to the road after two straight home wins when they travel to Florida State to play the Seminoles on Monday, February 24 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
• Carolina has won three in a row with wins over Syracuse, NC State and Virginia, the third time this season the Tar Heels have won three straight or better (also a three-game run in November and a four-game stretch in league play in early January).
• The Tar Heels are 17-11 overall, 10-6 in ACC play. Saturday's 81-66 win over Virginia gave the Tar Heels their 48th season with 10 or more regular-season ACC victories.
• Florida State is 16-11, 7-9 in the ACC following an 89-81 loss at Louisville on Saturday. The Seminoles are 3-6 in their last nine games but have three wins in their last five.
• Carolina broke a four-game road losing streak on February 15 when it beat Syracuse, 88-82, in the JMA Wireless Dome. The Tar Heels are 4-6 on the road this season, while FSU is 10-4 in the Tucker Center with homecourt defeats to Florida, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Clemson.
• The Tar Heels are sixth in the ACC standings at 10-6, one game behind both SMU and Wake Forest.
• Carolina sprinted to a 21-2 lead, led by 12 at the half and by as many as 20 with six minutes to play in beating Virginia, 81-66, in front of a sellout crowd in the Smith Center on Saturday.
• Ian Jackson and Jae'Lyn Withers combined to make seven three-pointers and scored 16 points apiece.
• Withers tied his career high with four 3FGs and added 11 rebounds for his ninth career double-double (second this season).
• Carolina's 81 points were the most it scored against the Cavaliers since 2013.

CAROLINA-FLORIDA STATE
• The Tar Heels are 53-16 all-time vs. the Seminoles.
• Carolina is 19-8 against FSU in Tallahassee, all of which have been played in the Tucker Center.
• The Tar Heels have won the previous two games in Tallahassee in 2023 and 2024.
• Overall, UNC has won five in a row over the previous three seasons against the Seminoles.
• Last season, UNC won all three games – 78-70 in Chapel Hill, 75-68 in Tallahassee and 92-67 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Washington, D.C.
• Carolina overcame a 14-point, first-half deficit (and six at the half) in the win last season in the Smith Center.
• RJ Davis has averaged 17.4 points in eight previous games against the Seminoles with a high of 27 last season in Chapel Hill. He scored 69 points in the three wins a year ago, 27 at home, 24 in Tallahassee and 18 in the ACC quarterfinal.
• Davis has averaged 19.7 points in three previous games in the Tucker Center.
• Elliot Cadeau had six assists in each of the last two wins over FSU last season. He made 8 of 9 free throws and totaled 16 points and six assists in the win at Florida State.
• Jae'Lyn Withers has scored 14 points in two previous games against the Seminoles while playing for Louisville. He had six points and seven rebounds last March in Washington, D.C.

NOTEBOOK
• The Tar Heels have not trailed in each of their last three games, wins over Syracuse (they led for 35:44), NC State (38:08) and Virginia (38:43). That's a total of 112:35 in the lead out of 120 minutes over the last three games.
• Carolina has made 30 of 64 three-pointers over its last three games. That's 46.9% in the wins over Syracuse, NC State and Virginia for a team that shoots 33.8% for the season.
• The Tar Heels converted 13 of 28 threes at Syracuse, 8 of 20 against the Wolfpack and 9 of 16 in the win over Virginia. That's the first time this season UNC made eight or more in three straight games, something it did in the last four games in the postseason in 2023-24.
• Carolina is 15-4 this season when it makes 30% or better from three-point range and 2-7 (wins over Georgia Tech and Notre Dame) when it makes less than 30% of its three-point attempts.
• The win over Virginia was the fourth time in the last five games the Tar Heels have shot better than 40% from three-point range, something they have done only seven times all season. UNC shot 46.7% from three in beating Pitt on February 8, 46.4% at Syracuse, 40.0% against the Wolfpack and a season-best 56.3% vs. Virginia. The UVA game was the second-highest percentage Carolina has shot from beyond the arc in Hubert Davis' four seasons as head coach.
• The Tar Heels are 6-1 this season when shooting 40% from three. UNC beat Elon (40.6%), lost to Michigan State in overtime (47.8%), and defeated SMU (50%), Pitt, Syracuse, NC State and Virginia.
• Conversely, the Tar Heels have shot 31 for 114 (27.2%) from three-point range in their last five losses.
• Overall, Carolina is shooting 37.7% from three in its 17 wins and 28.0% in the 11 losses.

• Carolina has led by as many as 32 in the win over NC State and 20 against Virginia in its last two games. In fact, in a season notable for numerous close games, the average margin in the last four game (three wins and a 20-point loss at Clemson) was 16.3 points.
• The Tar Heels have played 12 games this season in which the margin was within five points with 5:00 to play.
• UNC has led by five or fewer points with 5:00 remaining three times (beat Georgia Tech and lost to Kansas and Stanford) and trailed by five or fewer points eight times (beat Dayton, UCLA, Notre Dame, Boston College and Pitt and lost at Louisville, at Wake Forest and at Pitt). The score was tied once (in the loss to Florida).
• The Tar Heels have played 10 one-possession games (decided by one, two or three points) this season. Those are the most played by the Tar Heels in a season in the three-point era, which began in 1986-87. The 2010-11 team played nine one-possession games and won eight.
• The 10 one-possession games don't include the overtime win against Boston College, which UNC won, 102-96. They also don't include the win at Syracuse, which UNC led by two points with less than a minute to play.
• The Tar Heels' six one-possession wins this season are the second most in the three-point era. UNC won eight in 2010-11, six this season and five in 1998-99 (5-3), 2002-03 (5-2) and 2016-17 (5-1).
• The losses to Stanford and Wake Forest were just the fourth time ever Carolina lost by a point in back-to-back games. The other instances include the 1929-30 season (Loyola Chicago and Duke), 1940-41 (Fordham and St. Joseph's) and 1967-68 (South Carolina and Duke).

• The Tar Heels scored 81 points in defeating Virginia. That was right at Carolina's season average of 80.9 points in all games. UNC is third in the ACC in scoring at 80.9 points per game, trailing only SMU and Duke in scoring average. In ACC play, the Tar Heels are fifth in the conference in scoring offense (75.5 ppg) and ninth in points allowed (73.1 ppg).
• The Tar Heels have averaged 88.7 points in the last three games. Prior to the Syracuse game, Carolina had topped 75 points once in the previous seven games.

• Carolina is shooting 47.4% from the floor this season, its highest field goal percentage since 2015-16, when it shot 48.2% and played in the national championship game.
• The Tar Heels have shot 48% or better from the floor in three straight games and four of the last five (all four were wins).
• Carolina has shot at least 50% from the floor in four of the last five halves. The Tar Heels have shot 50% in at least one half in seven of the last eight games.
• In 16 ACC games, the Tar Heel defense has held the opponents to just 42.7% shooting from the floor, which is fourth best in the league behind Duke, Wake Forest and SMU (which not coincidentally hold three of the top five spots in the ACC standings). Louisville and Clemson are fifth and sixth in field goal defense and rank in the top three in the standings.

• Carolina attempted more free throws in nine of the first 13 games this season. In the last 15 games, the opponents have shot more free throws eight times (UNC is 3-5 in those games). • The Tar Heels have shot more free throws in seven of the last 15 games – wins over SMU, Cal, Boston College, Syracuse, NC State and Virginia and a one-point loss to Stanford.

• Ian Jackson and Jae'Lyn Withers led the Tar Heels with 16 points apiece vs. Virginia. It was the ninth time this season Jackson led UNC (the Tar Heels are 7-2 in those games) and the first time in two seasons Withers led outright or was a co-leader.
• It was also just the second time in the last 10 games someone other than RJ Davis was Carolina's top scorer.
• Davis is 1 for 12 from three over the last two games.

• Seth Trimble, a 6-3 guard, leads the Tar Heels in rebounding at 5.5 per game. He is on pace to become the shortest player to lead the Tar Heels in rebounding average since at least 1950. Bud Maddie (1952-53) and Larry Miller (1965-66) were both listed at 6-4.
• Trimble has three point/rebound double-doubles this season (27 points and 10 rebounds vs. Dayton, 18 and 12 vs. Boston College and 10 and 12 at Pitt).

• Carolina's strength of schedule fell from 11th to 29th in the country (seventh in non-conference games) after its last three games.
• Carolina's opponents collectively have the 20th-best offensive efficiency and 32nd-best defensive efficiency in the nation.
• The Tar Heels have played the top four teams and eight of the top 25 in the February 17 Associated Press poll.
• Carolina has already played No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Alabama, No. 14 Michigan State, No. 18 Clemson, No. 23 Kansas and No. 25 Louisville.

SCORING EFFICIENCY
• The Tar Heels are 36th in the country in scoring at 80.9 points per game and 295th in scoring defense (76.3).
• Factoring in pace of play and the number of possessions, Carolina is 35th in the country in offensive efficiency and 62nd in defensive efficiency.
• Carolina has produced three of its four highest offensive efficiencies in ACC play in the last three games. The Tar Heels' season best offensive efficiency in league play was 135.7, when they scored 102 points in an overtime win over Boston College on January 25. Carolina's 139.6 vs. NC State was the second highest in ACC play, its 126.3 at Syracuse is third best and 124.0 vs. Virginia is the fourth-best efficiency.
• The Tar Heels outscored NC State and Virginia, 38-15, in second-chance points. UNC is 9-2 this season when it has more second-chance points and 7-8 when the opponents have more.
• Carolina also outscored the Wolfpack and Cavaliers, 88-48, in the paint. UNC is 16-7 when it has equal or more paint points and 1-4 when the opponents have more.

• The Tar Heels are 12-1 this season when holding opponents at or below 105 points per 100 possessions. Wake Forest (92.0 ppp) is the only team to beat UNC despite scoring 105 or fewer points per 100 possessions.
• Carolina is shooting 55.0% from two-point range, its highest two-point percentage since the 1997-98 ACC champion and NCAA East Regional champion Tar Heels shot 56.5% from two-point range.

MORE FROM WINS AND LOSSES
• Carolina is shooting nearly 50% from the floor (49.9%) in its 17 wins, which is 9.1% better than its opponents (49.9 to 40.8%). However, in the losses, the opponents are out-shooting the Tar Heels 47.0 to 43.8%.
• Carolina is 8-1 this season and 228-10 in the last 22 seasons when it shoots 50% from the floor.
• UNC is 14-4 when it shoots 45% from the floor.
• The opponents average 83.8 points in UNC's losses and just 71.4 in the Tar Heels' wins.
• Carolina has held ACC opponents below 75 points 12 times and is 9-3 in those games (includes one-point losses to Stanford and Wake Forest and the loss at Pitt).
• Carolina is plus 5.9 rebounds per game in its wins and minus 3.1 per game on the boards in the losses. The opponents have out-rebounded the Tar Heels in seven of the 11 losses.
• RJ Davis averages 17.4 points in Carolina's victories and 17.2 in the losses.
• Carolina is 10-3 when it makes the same number or more three-pointers and is 7-8 when the opponents make more 3FGs.
• The Tar Heels are 12-4 when they attempt 20 or more free throws and 5-7 when attempting fewer than 20.
• UNC is 10-2 when it makes more free throws (losses to Kansas and Stanford) and 7-9 when making an equal amount or fewer free throws.

TAR HEELS AND THE ACC
• Carolina is a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.This is the 72nd season of ACC men's basketball.
• UNC has won the regular-season championship 33 times, including the 2023-24 season, when the Tar Heels went 17-3 to win the title outright for the 22nd time. Duke is second with 20 regular-season titles.
• The Tar Heels are 768-319 all-time in ACC regular-season play. The 768 wins are the most by any team.
• RJ Davis was the 2024 ACC Player of the Year and Hubert Davis was the Coach of the Year.
• Davis is the first Player of the Year to return the following season since UNC's Tyler Hansbrough won the award in 2008 and came back for his senior season in 2009, when he led the Tar Heels to an NCAA title.

RJ MAKING HISTORY
• RJ Davis has played in 166 games over five seasons. He is second in games by a Tar Heel behind Armando Bacot's ACC-record 169. Davis and Bacot played five seasons due to Covid-19.
• The White Plains, N.Y., native is averaging a career-high 3.8 assists this season. His previous season bests were 3.6 per game in 2021-22 and 3.5 last season.
• Davis and Duke's Cooper Flagg are the only players in the top 10 in the ACC in both scoring and assists.
• Davis leads Carolina and is eighth in the ACC in scoring at 17.3 points per game and is ninth in the league in assists at 3.9 per game.
• Davis is Carolina's all-time leader and is eighth in ACC history with 331 three-pointers. Hunter Cattoor (Virginia Tech) is seventh with 332 and Scott Wood (NC State) is sixth with 334.
• Davis is UNC's second-leading scorer with 2,572 points and is fourth in ACC career scoring. Dickie Hemric of Wake Forest is third with 2,587.
• He has the highest free throw percentage ever by a Tar Heel (86.2%). That is ninth best in ACC history.
• Davis' career scoring average is 15.5, the eighth-highest by a Tar Heel guard.
• Last year, Davis became the 19th Tar Heel to earn consensus first-team All-America honors. Those 19 players have won consensus first-team All-America honors a total of 28 times.
• Davis joined Lennie Rosenbluth in 1957, Phil Ford in 1978, Michael Jordan in 1983 and 1984, Kenny Smith in 1987, Jerry Stackhouse in 1995, Antawn Jamison in 1998, Joseph Forte in 2001 and Tyler Hansbrough in 2008 and 2009 as the only Tar Heels to make first-team All-America on each of the teams the NCAA recognizes to determine consensus first-team All-America.

SMITH CENTER
• Carolina is 11-2 in the Smith Center this season and 488-89 (.846) in 40 seasons.
• The Tar Heels are 256-70 against ACC opponents in the Smith Center.

NOVEMBER SIGNEES
• Carolina signed Isaiah Denis of Concord, N.C., and Derek Dixon of Vienna, Va.
• Denis is a 6-5 guard at Davidson Day High School in Davidson, N.C. His parents are Nancy Denis and Frantz Denis, and he plays AAU for CP3.
• Dixon, the son of John and Kari Dixon, is a 6-3 guard at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He also plays AAU for Team Takeover.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Elliot Cadeau

RJ Davis

Ian Jackson

Seth Trimble

Jae'Lyn Withers

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