North Carolina @ Florida State preview
Greensboro Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Feb 27, 2021 ) Florida State 70, North Carolina 78
North Carolina is in the midst of its best three-game scoring stretch of the season as it heads into the ACC tournament semifinals.
Coming off an impressive second-half performance in an 81-73 win over Virginia Tech on Thursday, the Tar Heels (18-9) are averaging 91 points per game over a three-game winning streak -- a significant jump from their 74.2 points per game prior.
North Carolina, the sixth seed in the tournament, will look to sustain its rhythm against second-seeded Florida State (15-5) on Friday night.
The 15th-ranked Seminoles have yet to play a game this week while the Tar Heels will play their third in three days.
"People always ask me, 'Have you ever done this?' and I always say yes, but I don't know that I've ever faced this situation here," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "It makes no difference. We're still playing. At the end of the game, the team that scores the most points is declared the winner whether it's your third win in a row or your first game."
Florida State advanced to the semifinals Thursday after 10th-seeded Duke was forced to pull out of the tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test.
"These are unprecedented times that we've all had to find ways to prepare for," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "The most important thing is to get through this season as safe as possible and hope we never have to deal with this again."
Armando Bacot sparked North Carolina's second-half surge against Virginia Tech, scoring 13 of his 17 points, and he finished with 13 rebounds. Freshman R.J. Davis also had 19 points and hit three of his four 3-pointers after halftime. The Tar Heels pulled down 13 of their 15 offensive rebounds in the second half.
"Armando finished his plays, and those things were huge for us to say the least," Williams said. "I'm always asking Armando for more. I'll never stop asking Armando for more because I think there's more there, and I'll never stop pushing him."
Williams picked up his 903rd career win, moving him ahead of Bob Knight into third place on the all-time list of men's Division I coaching victories.
The Tar Heels and Seminoles split their season series with the home team winning each game.
Walker Kessler scored 20 points to help the Tar Heels rally from a 16-point deficit in a 78-70 win over Florida State on Feb. 27 at Chapel Hill that clinched Williams' 900th career win. M.J. Walker and RaiQuan Gray combined for 40 points to help the Seminoles edge North Carolina 82-75 on Jan. 16 in Tallahassee.
"Once you get in the postseason, it's more about you than who you play," Hamilton said. "We're going to be who we are and they're going to be who they are, and most of the time whoever wins is the team that comes closest to their potential."
The Seminoles haven't played since losing at Notre Dame 83-73 on Saturday -- a defeat that cost them the top seed in the ACC tournament. Freshman Scottie Barnes led Florida State with 17 points while Gray had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
--Field Level Media