UNC basketball picks up important ACC road win with 77-66 victory over Florida State
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis knew where the question was headed and answered with a preemptive, “No.”
As in, no, he didn’t think the Tar Heels could win at Florida State on Monday with leading scorer Armando Bacot going scoreless until a free throw in the game’s final 26 seconds.
Carolina surprised Davis and the Seminoles alike by burying 14 3-pointers, and it didn’t need Bacot to shoulder the offensive load. The Heels never trailed, led by as many as 18, and held off a late Seminoles’ rally to emerge with a 77-66 victory.
“That’s what a team does is when a teammate may be struggling in a particular area, other guys step up,” Davis said. “And that’s what we had. I felt like every guy that played made an impactful play to put us in a position to win.”
R.J. Davis (game-high 19 points), Leaky Black (tied his career-high with 18 points), Caleb Love (16 points) and Pete Nance (15 points) each knocked down three 3-pointers to power the Heels’ 48 percent shooting from behind the arc. It marked the first time in school history four players made at least three 3s in the same game.
The Heels entered the game shooting 30.4 percent from 3-point range, which was the second worst mark in school history. But they relied so much on 3s Monday night, their 14 made 3s and only nine makes from inside the arc was the third highest percentage (60.8) of points from 3 in school history.
“Statistically, we’re the worst 3-point shooting team in the ACC, so teams have been packing in and having multiple guys in the lane and making us shoot the ball from the outside at times,” Hubert Davis said. “And I’ve said before, at the end of the day, we’re going to have to knock down some perimeter jump shots and over the last couple games, we’ve been able to do that.”
Carolina (19-11, 11-8 ACC) now takes a three-game winning streak into Saturday’s regular season finale against Duke. The rivalry game will have the added importance of the Heels needing a win to shore up their NCAA tournament resume.
“We definitely feel like we’re hitting our stride,” Nance said. “Coming together as a team and really just making the plays that we need to make against good teams. And that’s definitely helping our confidence out a lot.”
Of course, they’ll need Bacot to produce against the Blue Devils more along the lines of how he has all season. Bacot had scored double figures in every game with the exception of the loss at Virginia, when he was injured roughly 90 seconds into the game.
Against the Noles, he was 0-for-4 and was scoreless until he was fouled late in the game. Bacot had only four shot attempts from the field and finished with one point and eight rebounds.
Bacot picked up two early fouls and found himself sitting on the bench with 14:28 to play in the first half. Carolina’s offense got sloppy without him being a central focus too. The Heels had turnovers on four of their next five possessions and the only one that didn’t end that way was a desperation 3-point heave from R.J. Davis as the shot clock expired.
Bacot played a season-low 21 minutes, excluding when he was injured at Virginia.
“All the guys did a good job of stepping up,” Bacot said. “Obviously, it wasn’t one of my best games and for us to come in here and win an environment like that. I mean, they kind of chip back a little bit at the end, but for everybody to step up was huge.”
They totaled seven turnovers and made just three baskets during the eight-minute stretch that Bacot sat out. But their 3-point shooting saved them from allowing the Seminoles to take the lead while they struggled.
Just two games ago, the Heels shot just eight percent (2-for-23) from 3 — the third-worst showing in program history — in their win at Notre Dame.
Against the Noles, they made 11 of 18 attempts from behind the arc in the first half. Five different Carolina players made at least one 3-pointer, including little-used reserve Dontrez Styles. The sophomore from Kinston hadn’t made a 3 since Dec. 13 against The Citadel, but had only appeared in six games since then.
“We all know we can shoot,” Love said. “We do countless drills, countless work, countless hours. It’s all about the confidence that we got in ourselves to step up and make shots.”
Hubert Davis said he believed he can see their confidence building every game. He even had a different perspective of their first half struggles against Notre Dame.
“As I look back it wasn’t a lack of energy and effort, I thought they were playing tight,” Davis said. “And then the second half they had no choice but to play loose and to fight back. I think playing at home against Virginia gave them confidence and then here (at Florida State) gave them confidence. And so it’s a great time to start building it right now.”
The Seminoles (9-21, 7-12) pulled off the biggest comeback in ACC history on Saturday when they rallied from 25 points down to beat Miami, 85-84, on a Matt Cleveland 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Carolina led by 18 at halftime and as late as 11:41 left in the game, but the Noles slowly crept back into the game and pulled within four twice in the last three minutes. The Heels 3-point shooting had long since dried up in the second half — they made just 3 of 11 attempts — but R.J. Davis said that was the difference between Monday’s result and games like their loss to Miami.
“We kind of got too down on ourselves when the shots didn’t go in,” R.J. Davis said. “We were at a better mindset right now where the shot doesn’t go in, it’s next play. We’re not gonna get too caught up in the action and don’t dwell on it.”
Both times the lead was down to four, Carolina answered. First when R.J. Davis made a driving bank shot and then Black drove the baseline for a two-handed dunk with 1:33 left to keep FSU from getting any closer.
“When you start making shots, that just opens everything else up,” Black said. “I’m glad he jumped so I could get my little highlights.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 9:09 PM with the headline "UNC basketball picks up important ACC road win with 77-66 victory over Florida State."