Lucas: FSU Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. In one of Carolina's best team wins of the season, the Tar Heels outscored a tall, athletic Florida State team in Tallahassee, 96-85. The Heels now have the team's second four-game winning streak of the season.

2. Six different Heels scored in double figures, just the second time this season that has happened (the other was Kansas). RJ Davis was the leader with 20 points (on just nine shots), but multiple other Heels had huge contributions. Carolina again was effective from the three-point line, hitting 10 of 26 attempts. That moves the record to 16-4 when making at least 30 percent. The Heels are now 40-90 from three in the last four games. Davis added five assists and no turnovers to his stat line.

3. The first part of the second half was largely a foul-fest. The officials called 18 fouls in the first 9:57 of the second half, and FSU was in the double bonus only nine minutes into the second half. Perhaps with the ears ringing from all the whistles in what turned into an almost two and a half hour game, UNC hit just 12 of 20 in the second half, well below average.

4. The foul barrage forced Hubert Davis to get creative with his second half lineups. Both Jalen Washington and Ven-Allen Lubin were saddled with four fouls early in the second half. The Heels chose to move Withers to the center position and used Cade Tyson at power forward. Tyson had one of his best overall games as a Tar Heel.

5. Other than the fouls, Carolina was much better defensively in the second half. That included tougher defense on Jamir Watkins, who had put up 18 points in the first half but managed just eight in the second half and was much less effective.

6. Improbably, Carolina led at halftime after Florida State shot 63 percent in the first 20 minutes. That included the Seminoles making half their eight three-pointers and 9-for-11 at the free throw line.

7. How did the Heels lead after such a blistering performance? They were relentless on the offensive glass. The Tar Heels pulled down eight offensive rebounds and turned them into 16 points. Carolina was especially good rebounding missed three-pointers; the Heels went 5-for-16 from the arc in the first half but rebounded six of those. And while Jamir Watkins was having an all-world half, putting up 18 points, the Heels' scoring was much more diverse. Seven different Tar Heels scored five points or more in the first 20 minutes.

8. Hubert Davis tried to vary his defenses to slow down the red-hot 'Noles. After watching them post 27 points on 21 trips against man to man defense, the Heels went zone...and saw FSU put up 16 points on 11 trips. But it did feel like the zone at least made FSU put a little more thought into their offense and work harder to get the baskets. Carolina also used the zone with some success in the second half.

9. That's three straight games Tyson has given Carolina a boost. He hit a pair of three-pointers against State, nailed one against Virginia, and then even though his three-pointers didn't fall against FSU, he was tough on the offensive glass and scored three two-point baskets in the first half in seven minutes. That was the same number of two-point shots he'd made in his previous 107 minutes of action across 14 games.

10. The other quiet contributor was Seth Trimble. Even against some taller defenders, Trimble scored 17 points. He hit a couple of three-pointers and had a big three-point play with 2:34 left.

11. FSU ran a very well-done video feature on Leonard Hamilton approximately 30 minutes before the game. Hamilton, of course, is retiring after this season. The longtime FSU coach (who also coached Hubert Davis in the NBA) is the fifth winningest coach in ACC history. He will be missed in the league.

12. Carolina, which has now beaten FSU six straight times, can sit and watch the league beat up on itself through the rest of the midweek. The Heels are back in the Smith Center on Saturday against Miami.

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

RJ Davis

Ven-Allen Lubin

Seth Trimble

Cade Tyson

Jalen Washington

Related Videos