ACC Tournament: Quarterfinals Are Set for North Carolina


(Photo Courtesy Grant Halverson/GettyImages) 

By JEREMIAH ARTACHO 

Washington, D.C. --- #4 Tar Heels now have their sights on tomorrow's game following the conclusion of the matchup between #8-seeded Virginia Tech and #9-seeded Florida State. 
 
North Carolina will be taking on Florida State tomorrow, March 14th, at noon, televised on ESPN, in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. FSU experienced a tough battle with the Hokies but managed to pull out an 86-76, achieving a double-digit triumph. 

This will mark round number three between the two schools, as in the last two outings, the Heels came out victorious. Back on December 2nd, the Tar Heels came back down by as many as 14 points against the Seminoles, but it was not until Coach Davis instructed his team to run a full court press that they climbed back into the game. Ever since that happened, North Carolina did not look back, as that defensive strategy was ultimately the biggest factor in getting the win. Possessions one after the other, Carolina found a way to apply the pressure on the Noles, followed by timely-made baskets, giving the Heels a 78-70 outcome in their favor. 
 
RJ Davis wrote 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist for the game while also shooting 8-17 FG and 3-9 3PT. Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram dumped in 13 and 11 points each, respectively. Bacot entered double digits in the rebounding column as well. Seth Trimble off the bench played a huge role, with, of course, his defense, but scored 9 points through 14 minutes. 
 
The second date of UNC-Florida State went down this past January 27th, as at the time North Carolina was on the verge of stretching their winning streak to 10 games. And in case you needed a reminder, Carolina was able to run out of the Donald L. Tucker Center with a 75-68 victory. 
 
RJ Davis, Elliot Cadeau, Harrison Ingram, and Cormac Ryan all had double-figures in scoring. Davis thrived and dropped 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. The freshman Cadeau supported his backcourt running mate with 16 points to go along with his 6 assists. Ingram had a monster game on the glass with 17 rebounds plus his 13 points, while Ryan entered the sheet with 10 points. 
 
Jump ahead to present time; another round of North Carolina and Florida State will occur, but this time in a much bigger state for a much bigger reward. 
 
Tomorrow at noon, these two will face off in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. This game holds a lot of weight for both teams, as UNC could potentially earn a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament based on their performance over the next few days. However, on the other hand, the Seminoles seemingly must win the entire tourney to have a spot on Selection Sunday later this week. 

High stakes and high rewards. The Tar Heels are looking to grab another piece of hardware in Washington, D.C. It has been 8 years removed since the last ACC Championship banner was hung in the Smith Center.  

For now, we must all wait until tip-off and watch 40 minutes of action-packed college basketball to see who lives another day.
 
Projected Starting Lineups 

Elliot Cadeau (FR)
RJ Davis (SR)
Cormac Ryan (SR)
Harrison Ingram (JR)
Armando Bacot (SR)

Jalen Warely (JR)
Darin Green Jr. (SR)
Jamir Watkins (JR)
Cam Cohen (SO)
Baba Miller (SO)

Key Matchup 

In this opening game for North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, Cormac Ryan and Jamir Watkins is the matchup to look out for. Both coming off high-scoring performances, it will be interesting to see how the two follow those outings up. 

The Projected Winner by the Numbers 

UNC is listed at 87.6%, according to the matchup predictor on ESPN Analytics.

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