GREENSBORO, NC – North Carolina once again erased a double-digit deficit, but faltered in the home stretch after losing to No. 15 Florida State by 69-66 in the semifinal action of the ACC Tournament on Friday night.
Tar Heels (18-10, 10-6 ACC) lost by up to 13 points in the first half before using an 11-0 run to take the lead from 51-46 in the middle of the second half. UNC led 64-62 with 3:15 to play, but then missed his next seven attempts at field goal while the Seminoles achieved a four-point lead and held on to advance to the ACC tournament title game against the No. 4 seed Georgia Tech on Saturday night.
Caleb Love (13 points, 4 of 14 FG) and RJ Davis (7 points, 2 of 10 FG) made reckless kicks in the final two minutes and Day’Ron Sharpe missed two free throws with 21 seconds remaining that would have cut the FSU lead to a point. Tar Heels missed 11 of the 25 free-throw attempts.
UNC, playing its third game in three days, lacked energy at the start that it exhibited in Thursday’s 81-73 victory over Virginia Tech before finding enough energy to make its second leg. The state of Florida, on the other hand, was making its post-season debut after problems with the COVID-19 knocked Duke out of the tournament on Thursday.
UNC shot 33.8% from the ground, including 33.3% from the 3-point range. The state of Florida connected 45.3% of its attempts at field goal. Tar Heels overcame his opponent, 42-39, and maintained an 18-10 lead on second chance points.
FSU committed 18 spins against 12 of the UNC, but managed a 19-15 point advantage over spins.
Walton proves his worth
The UNC attack is at its best when Kerwin Walton is making perimeter shots. The freshmen wing had a smooth opening in two rounds of play in the postseason, although Tar Heels’ size advantage on the crossbar mitigated his 2 in 7 long-range shots. The FSU length was equally effective in the first half, keeping Walton goalless with just one attempt at a field goal.
When UNC made his attack in the second half, Walton was the catalyst, knocking down a three-point trio in a two-minute, two-second interval to turn a six-point deficit into a 46-46 draw with 12: 25 to play. . He finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
Kessler Struggles
Walker Kessler provided a classic example of the inconsistencies that occur with freshmen working on the necessary adjustments, even in this last stage of the season. Two weeks ago, the freshman pivot was the best player on the court against the Seminoles, setting his career record with 20 points from 9 out of 10 shots with eight rebounds and four blocks. This effort earned him a more / less (+11) ratio.
In Friday’s rematch, Kessler tried at best in his nine minutes, scoring two points and catching three rebounds. He also won a time-low (-13) in plus / minus.
Woe to the first half
The defense of the Seminoles’ physical perimeter frustrated Caleb Love from the start and his size diminished negating the UNC advantage, which was instrumental in the ACC Tournament victories over Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. Tar Heels’ first assist came with 4:21 to go until the end of the first half, and that basket was an 18-foot baseline.
UNC missed nine of its first 10 field goal attempts and shot 26.7% into the break, including a 14.3% effort in the 3-point range (1 of 7). Tar Heels hit 3 of 11 in the hoops and still had problems with the free-throw line, converting 7 of 14 attempts. They forced 10 turnovers, but were only able to turn these FSU errors into five points.
ACCT Notes
UNC dropped to 104-49 of all time in the ACC Tournament, including a record of 42-20 in Greensboro.
Next
The first post-season tournament for Tar Heels has ended and now they will turn their attention to Sunday’s National Team to discover their ranking and key to the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis. BracketMatrix.com tracks 131 bracket projections, and the 101 brackets updated on Friday morning from the UNC project as a seed of 8 on average.