Where: Donald Tucker Center, Tallahassee, FL
When: Wednesday, January 28th, 9:00 PM
TV: Raycom
Livestats: SCACC Hoops
Liveblogging: Yes
Records: UNC 17-2, 3-2 ACC; FSU 16-4, 3-2 ACC
Heels need to show up for this one. FSU should not be taken lightly.
This is not the textbook definition of a trap game but it is one the Heels ought to be paying attention for. Going to FSU is generally guaranteed to be one of those games a team like UNC can easily be tripped up in if they are not careful. FSU has the elements to give the Heels problems. The Seminoles have a great guard scorer in Toney Douglas and generally play very physical down on the low post. I also think their arena is one of those buildings opposing teams never seem to shoot well in though I have nothing stat related to back that up with only Duke and Pitt's performance there. By and large this game feels like the kind of contest you need to be careful about both in terms of winning the game and coming out of their injury free.
Speaking of which, if Ryan Reid gets anywhere near Ty Lawson I think I might lose it. As you recall it was the game in Talahassee that saw Ryan Reid take Ty Lawson down like it was Monday Night RAW giving the Tar Heel PG an injury that baffled the UNC medical staff for weeks. I would very much like to avoid a similar incident and leave Florida unscathed.
FSU is not a great shooting team and the Heels, if they put even the slightest effort into playing defense, should keep the Seminoles in check. FSU is also not particualrly well coached in my opinion and not the scariest team in the world when it comes to actually executing to score. Still the Seminoles are good enough to make this a game and the Heels need to dig deep and play their A game to ensure another "BC game" does not happens. The two losses means there is no room for error. Coming off the week break, concerns about team focus are legitmate. Let's see how the Heels answer them.
UNC 85 FSU 71