ACC Quarterfinal Aftermath: North Carolina Stomps on Florida State

 

(Photo Courtesy Greg Fiume/GettyImages)

By JEREMIAH ARTACHO     

Washington, D.C. --- The Tar Heels were patiently waiting yesterday to figure out their opponent for the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. When it comes to the Florida State Seminoles, whom they have already beaten twice, there's always the narrative about how it's hard to top a team three times in one season. Fortunately, for Coach Davis, his team is pretty daggum good, as former Coach Roy Williams may say. 

North Carolina's performance was seemingly a combination of all the highlights of the regular season put into one game. Elliot Cadeau's slashing and passing, RJ Davis' three-point shooting, Cormac being Cormac, Harrison Ingram muscling his way on the interior, and Armando Bacot. Passionate as ever, especially after one play where UNC fought long and hard for the offensive rebound leading to a putback, the team afterwards proceeded to let out arguably the most intense celebration of this season. Not only that, but another Seth Trimble slam, a Jae'Lyn Withers three-pointer, and more. 

Elliot Cadeau controlled the ball extremely well, using his speed and quickness to get to the finish around the rim. Cadeau racked up 8 points, 4 rebounds, and a team-high 6 assists for the game. RJ Davis led the team in points, of course, with 18 plus his 3 rebounds and 3 assists. 

Armando Bacot had a very impressive performance, recording yet another double-double and contributing 14 points and 10 rebounds. Bacot did his scoring on 5-8 FGs and went a solid 4-4 from the free throw line. 

Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram combined for 23 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and their chippy attitude to help the rest of their Carolina teammates swing by the Seminoles in their 92-67 win. 

Seth Trimble off the bench tied his career-high in points with 12 in addition to his 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Through a total of 18 minutes on the court, it's magical what Trimble can do to lift the Tar Heels up, like, literally, considering his high-flying dunk down the middle of the lane during the second half. 

Zayden High, Paxson Wojcik, Jalen Washington, and James Okonwko were added to the scorers sheet, respectively. 

UNC had a total of 29 points off the bench, 46 points in the paint, as well as 23 points off turnovers. The defensive was also a huge factor in this outing to move North Carolina into the next round, as Florida State was held to only 13-32 shooting in the second half. And only 17% from behind the arc. 

The largest lead for Carolina came at the very end of regulation, as their lead ballooned to 27. Furthermore, UNC's largest run during the entire game was a 12-0 scoring fest. 

There are so many great things to take away from this team's performance, as it's encouraging to see the defense clicking by everybody and productive showings from the guys coming off the bench. 

Nevertheless, this is only game one of a long journey ahead if they want to achieve their absolute goal of this season, bigger than sweeping Duke. 

Winning on the final Monday in Phoenix next month. 

Starters 

Elliot Cadeau - 28 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 4-10 FG, 0-4 3PT, 0-0 FT
RJ Davis- 30 MIN, 18 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 7-15 FG, 2-5 3PT, 2-2 FT
Cormac Ryan - 26 MIN, 14 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 5-7 FG, 3-4 3PT, 1-2 FT
Harrison Ingram - 28 MIN, 9 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 2-6 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-4 FT
Armando Bacot - 26 MIN, 14 PTS, 10 REB, 0 AST, 5-8 FG, 0-0 3PT, 4-4 FT

Bench 

Seth Trimble - 18 MIN, 12 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 4-7 FG, 0-0 3PT, 4-4 FT
Jae'Lyn Withers - 14 MIN, 6 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 2-4 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-2 FT
Jalen Washington - 11 MIN, 2 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT
Paxson Wojick- 9 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 2 AST, 1-2 FG, 1-2 3PT, 0-2 
Zayden High - 3 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 2-2 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 
James Okonkwo - 3 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 
Creighton Lebo - 1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 
Rob Landry- 1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 
Duwe Farris - 1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 


Comments

Post a Comment

What are your thoughts?

Let me know!

Popular posts from this blog

Rob Landry: Inside the Life of a Biscuit Boy

Image
  (Photo Courtesy Nicholas Faulker/GettyImages)  By JEREMIAH ARTACHO Chapel Hill, N.C. — Rob Landry, a 6-foot-4 and 190-pound senior walk-on from Greensboro, North Carolina starred as part of UNC's "Biscuit Boys." Attracting many fans who sit in the bleachers of the Dean Dome cheering on their teammates from the end of the bench. Landry began his time on the junior varsity team and eventually tried out to be a part of UNC's roster. He ultimately made it but the journey was not easy by any means. During a time when the whole world experienced an epidemic, it was hard for everyone to go out and do as they pleased.  Landry's relationship with the other Biscuit Boys, Creighton Lebo, and Duwe Farris traces miles beyond the hardwood, "We're super tight," he said. It helps to have friends in similar situations that go through the same stuff on the team. Knowing that we won't necessarily be the ones getting the playing time but at the same time we do get...
Read more

UNC Basketball: A Rematch of the 2016 National Title Game

Image
   (Photo Courtesy Jim Hawkins/Inside Carolina) Chapel Hill - UNC vs. Villanova is here.   Coach Davis and the Tar Heels are presented with a contest that has a very intense past history.   Back in the 2016 National Championship after beating a 10-seeded Syracuse team during the Final Four that ended with a score of 83-66. Then proceeded on to face Coach Wright and a 35-4 Villanova entering the game on the last Monday of the season.   The starters for former Coach Williams consisted of a senior Marcus Paige, a junior Joel Berry II, a sophomore Justin Jackson, a junior Kennedy Meeks, and an outstanding senior Brice Johnson.   It's now 2023, with a new coach, new players, and a whole brand-new system due to modern-day basketball.   UNC handled Northern Iowa after a slow first half, 91-69, as six players accumulated at least 10 points to their name.   Villanova defeated Texas Tech in their quarterfinal game 85-69, as the pair o...
Read more

UNC Basketball Preview: Jumpman Invitational

Image
(Photo Courtesy Jim Hawkins/Inside Carolina)  Chapel Hill - Tomorrow, December 20th, at 9:00 p.m., the Tarheels will play the #7 Oklahoma Sooners in the Jumpman Invitational. Last season, the Heels won this special event against Michigan by a score of 80-76. Coach Davis and his team seek to snap their two-game losing streak after the battles involving #5 UConn in the Jimmy V Classic and #9 Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic. UNC went toe-to-toe against Kentucky, shrinking deficits throughout the game, which unfortunately resulted in a turnover during their last halfcourt possession in what looked to be a setup for an RJ Davis catch-and-shoot three-pointer. However, Davis blasted for 27 points with seven rebounds and four assists, alongside Cormac Ryan's 20-point outing, shooting eight of twelve for the game and four of seven from behind the three-point line. Davis continues to be exceptional for North Carolina and displays such poise on the offensive end of the ball. The senior gu...
Read more