A dominant performance leads UNC basketball to ACC Tournament Semifinals

The UNC basketball program left little doubt on Thursday afternoon as they defeated Florida State in blowout fashion in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Washington, DC.

The story of the first two meetings between these two teams was how the Seminoles were able to capture early leads and carry them into the second half. In both instances, North Carolina battled back to win the game, but Thursday's meeting felt a whole lot different.

Following a little bit of a sloppy start, the UNC basketball program put their foot on the pedal and didn't let up. The effort and intensity from freshman guard Elliot Cadeau set the tone, as the Tar Heels as a whole responded by playing with a ton of fire.

Pushing the pace, North Carolina put together a 10-0 run that forced Leonard Hamilton to burn a timeout. They didn't let the timeout slow them down, as they finished the first half on a 20-7 run, extending the lead to 16.

The Tar Heels absolutely dominated on the glass, as Florida State didn't have double-digit rebounds until mid-way through the second half.

Yes, you read that correctly!

North Carolina took advantage of second chance opportunities, as they recorded an astounding 17 offensive rebounds. They also thrived in transition, outscoring the Seminoles 26-6 in fast break opportunities.

In total, 11 Tar Heels scored, including RJ Davis, who scored a game-high 18 points. Armando Bacot (14 points, 10 rebounds) put together another double-double performance, while Cormac Ryan continued his strong shooting with a 14-point effort.

Cadeau was arguably the best Tar Heel in this one (and trust us, that's hard to say given how well the team played), as he finished the contest with eight points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals. Seth Trimble was right next to Cadeau in that category, as a highlight reel dunk capped off a very strong 12-point, five rebound effort for the reserve guard.

You couldn't have scripted it better for the UNC basketball program as they move on to Friday night's semi-finals against the winner of Pittsburgh and Wake Forest. A blowout win was nice, especially given that the starters didn't have to log a ton of minutes, but the job's still not down.

The Tar Heels want to win two more games in Washington, DC before heading home.