The North Carolina men's basketball team (8-5, 3-3 ACC) fell to Florida State (7-2, 3-1 ACC) on Saturday afternoon, 82-75, in an up-and-down game where the Tar Heels flashed progress.
What happened?
Both teams struggled to score in the opening minutes, combining for only 12 points in the first four minutes of the game. While the Tar Heels struggled with the size and length of FSU, they managed to balance their attack, with five different players scoring to take a 14-10 lead.
North Carolina's offensive woes reared their head yet again though, as the scoring dried up and the Seminoles went on a 20-5 run over the next seven minutes to take an 11-point lead, behind eight points from guard M.J. Walker during that span.
With Florida State shooting 54.2 percent in the first half, the Tar Heels managed to rally behind a burst of hot shooting from first-year guards Caleb Love, RJ Davis and Kerwin Walton, all of whom hit threes to give UNC a two-point lead with two minutes left in the game. A series of turnovers to end the half from North Carolina gave the Seminoles a 6-0 run to go into the break with a four-point lead, 41-37.
Yet again, the Tar Heels struggled offensively during the second half, scoring the opening basket and then giving up an 13-3 run to FSU, who retook an 11-point lead.
Redshirt first-year guard Anthony Harris, making his season debut, would give the Tar Heels a spark with his own 5-0 run, and UNC even managed to cut the lead to just one with 2:22 to go after a layup by first-year big man Day'Ron Sharpe, but couldn't make shots or get enough stops as the clock wound down, eventually dropping the game, 82-75.
Who stood out?
While head coach Roy Williams said after the game he wasn't interested in moral victories, North Carolina did show flashes of improvement on the offensive end, with four players scoring in double digits.
