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

After an ugly loss in a non-conference game against Marquette on Wednesday, the UNC Basketball program returns to the court for a matchup against the top team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The No. 11 Florida State Seminoles come into Chapel Hill on Saturday hoping to continue their hot play but do provide the Tar Heels with the opportunity to get their second quad 1 win of the season at a much-needed time. The Seminoles are 14-3 and on a roll right now, sitting atop the ACC and is the conferences best chance at a 2 or 3 seed going into March.

While UNC has the chance to earn that big win to boost their resume, it won’t be easy as they found out earlier in the season suffering a loss at Florida State.

The Seminoles are led by senior guard M.J. Walker who is averaging 13. 8 points per game this season. But behind Walker, they have a group of guys who can also score the basketball and contribute on the offensive end of the floor. RaiQuan Gray is averaging 11.7 points per game while freshman Scottie Barnes has been fantastic at 10.1 points per game. Barnes sat out the first game between the two teams this season and will be a handful for the Tar Heels on Saturday.

For UNC, they are led by their play in the post.

Armando Bacot is averaging 11.4 points per game to lead the Tar Heels in scoring but they get contributions from other members in the paint including Garrison Brooks (10.7 per game) and Day’Ron Sharpe (10.3 per game).  Walker Kessler has played well lately, emerging as another option off the bench for the Tar Heels. However, if UNC wants to win this one and make a run in March it’s going to be on the shoulders of Caleb Love.

The talented freshman guard wasn’t very good against Marquette, scoring just 1 point. He hasn’t scored in double figures since his 25-point performance in the win over Duke, a span of four games. If Love struggles, the Tar Heels’ offense will struggle especially with teams zoning in on the big men in the paint.

With a big opportunity for the Tar Heels looming, let’s see if they can help their resume with a big ranked win.

Key to Victory for UNC

Going to have to come out shooting lights out. The Tar Heels put up 99 on Louisville last Saturday, doing so with Love only scoring 9 and Leaky Black failing to score. If UNC wants to win this game, their guards outside of Kerwin Walton need to show up.

Black has really struggled this season and after scoring 12 in the win against Duke, he’s posted scoring totals of 0, 2, 0 and 3. Ouch.

If UNC can get some contributions from Love, Black, Walton and R.J. Davis they will have a shot on Saturday. But they really need to shoot it well from start to finish.

Something to Watch

No slow starts…please. On Wednesday, UNC fell behind early against Marquette and while they cut the lead down to 1, they never re-gained the lead after it was 2-0. UNC has really struggled in games this season starting off strong. Really, outside of Louisville and Duke, they have started games slow and it’s cost them.

They can’t afford to fall behind early and put themselves in a whole against Florida State on Saturday.

What you need to know

WHAT? Florida State Seminoles (14-3, 10-2 ACC) AT North Carolina Tar Heels (14-8, 8-5 ACC)
WHEN? Saturday, Feb. 27 at 4:00 p.m. ET
WHERE? Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV? ESPN
RADIO? Tar Heel Sports Network
LINE? UNC +3
LAST MEETING? Florida State beat UNC 82-75 on January 16th
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads 50-15
PREDICTION? Florida State 80, UNC 74

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