by Sharon Thorsland
Fresh off its ACC regular season title, 4th-ranked North Carolina begins its quest for an
ACC Tournament championship, taking on Florida State today. This is the third time
these teams will meet this season, the Tar Heels won the first two but the Seminoles played
them tough both times. This time the Heels are well-rested having earned a double bye,
while the Seminoles opened play on Wednesday in the second round, pulling away from
Virginia Tech to advance.
Florida State was an up and down team this season, the Seminoles finished 10-10 in the
conference. But they’ve got an excellent player in Jamir Watkins, who had 34 points against
the Hokies on Wednesday. The VCU transfer has been the star of this Seminole team all
season long, leading the team in points, assists, rebounds and steals. Guard Darin Green, Jr.
is the Seminole’s top 3-point shooter but as a team they’ve struggled from behind the arc,
and went just 3-for-13 against the Hokies. Cam Corhen and Baba Miller are the twin towers
inside at 6’10 and 6’11, respectively. They did a good job limiting Armando Bacot in the last
matchup, he managed just five points and four rebounds. But RJ Davis is the guy that
makes this UNC team go – the ACC Player of the Year is averaging over 21 points per
game. And freshman guard Elliot Cadeau played one of his best games of the season at
Florida State, with 16 points and six assists. He and the Tar Heels will need to take care of
the basketball – they had 17 turnovers in Tallahassee, and the Seminoles just had 10 steals
against the Hokies.
The last time the ACC Tournament was in the nation’s capital it was UNC coming away
with the trophy. That was also the last time the Tar Heels won the tourney, so this is no
doubt a motivated bunch. FSU will be a tough out – it’s hard hard to beat the same team
three times in the same season. But UNC has won four straight against the Seminoles and
should be locked in and ready to make it five in a row. Go Tar Heels!
