UNC Basketball vs. Florida State: Game preview, info, prediction and more

Can the UNC Basketball program continue their win streak this weekend? They are set to take on a very good Florida State team

The UNC Basketball program looks to continue their hot play and win their fourth-straight game on Saturday as they travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida State.

While UNC is riding a three-game win streak after starting 0-2, the Seminoles will be the best team UNC has faced in conference play this season. Florida State enters the game at 6-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Seminoles are fresh off a big 105-73 over NC State the other night, a game in which they shot 70 percent from the field.

Florida State is a good team that probably should be ranked again and is led by senior guard M.J. Walker who is averaging 15.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field. The Seminoles as a team are averaging 78.8 points per game and are a damn good shooting team. Not only is Walker in double-digits but freshman Scottie Barnes is averaging 11.1 points per game and junior Anthony Polite is averaging 10.1 per game.

Barnes has been fantastic in his first season with the Seminoles and is among the best freshman in college basketball this season. He will certainly be a big factor in this game on Saturday and it could be a battle of which team’s freshmen play better.

For UNC, they are going to need both Caleb Love and R.J. Davis to show up. We know that UNC’s strengths are in the post with their rotation but the guards need to play better especially on Saturday if they want to win.

UNC did shoot a little better in that last win over Syracuse earlier in the week but they are going to need to put together a solid effort for all 40 minutes against the Seminoles. They may lean on their post presence and ability to out-rebound teams, but shooting and their defense will be the biggest areas they need to excel in.

Key to Victory for UNC

Dominate the paint. Let your offense run through the bigs as they could have a big day. Senior forward Garrison Brooks had his best game of the season against Syracuse, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The hope is that Brooks has broken out of his slump and can be the player many thought he would be as the preseason ACC Player of the Year.

Both Day’Ron Sharpe and Armando Bacot have been consistently UNC’s best players in the post and adding Brooks to that mix would be huge.

I expect UNC to run their offense through the post including on Sharpe as the freshman looks to continue his hot play. The battle in the post could be the difference maker in this one.

Something to Watch

Defense. The Seminoles are coming off a hot shooting game against NC State, making 70 percent of their attempts.

That’s likely not going to happen again, but UNC has to be really good on defense in this one. In their win over Syracuse, UNC jumped out to 9 point leads twice before letting the Orange come back to tie it and take the lead. But down the stretch their defense was really good including Leaky Black who shut down Buddy Boeheim in the second half.

What you need to know

WHAT? North Carolina (8-4, 3-2 in ACC) vs. Florida State (6-2, 2-1 in ACC)
WHEN? Saturday, January 16 @ NOON
WHERE? Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida
TV? ESPN
RADIO? Tar Heels Sports Network
LINE? N/A
LAST MEETING? Florida State beat UNC 65-59 on Feb. 3 2020
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads 50-14
PREDICTION? Florida State 77, UNC 65

For more on the UNC Basketball program including coverage of this game, please check back with Keeping It Heel.