Off the cuff: Lots of takeaways from this one but the main one for me was how everybody contributed and how starters got to get more rest than usual.
That could be important in a tournament environment.
You almost know that Armando Bacot will get a double-double. And he did have 14 points and 10 rebounds but he did it in only 25 minutes of playing time.
Not unusual but RJ Davis led the scoring with 18 points. He played the most of any starter with 30 minutes.
Cormac Ryan buried three triples - also not unusual. Harrison Ingram didn't have a great game but he almost got a double-double despite only hitting a third of his shots and finishing with 10 rebounds.
Elliott Cadeau got that offensive pace going that Coach Hubert Davis wants. Despite missing all four of his three-point attempts, he scored eight points by attacking the basket, and he came up with three steals and dished out six assists.
"Our offense is best when we are really pushing the ball and getting good shots, layups," said Cadeau, who added that he has been learning from his mistakes and now feels more confident.
He feels he's making fewer turnovers and playing defense with more passion.
Six Tar Heels came off the bench to score, led by defensive-minded Seth Trimble, who looked explosive on the offensive end. He finished with a career-high 12 points in just 18 minutes of playing time.
Jae'Lyn Withers had six points and seven rebounds in just 14 minutes. Paxson Wojcik played nine minutes and came up with a big three.
Jalen Washington got six rebounds in 12 minutes. James Ononkwo even got into the scoring column with an alley-oop dunk.
Zayden High even scored a couple of baskets in four minutes.
Creighton Lebo, the only Tar Heel to have not scored this season, came up with a steal and missed a shot. I still don't like how Coach Davis runs the clock out rather than letting the subs play normally. With that attitude, Lebo probably won't score.
Maybe he'll settle for a regular season title, an ACC Tournament title and maybe more.
Carolina 92, Florida State 67 Sticky D, fastbreak offense lead Heels
There was no letdown for North Carolina after an emotional win at Duke as the No. 1 seeded Tar Heels used an aggressive defense to run past Florida State 92-67 in the ACC Tournament. (3/14)
"Everybody knows their role," said UNC's Elliott Cadeau, who had eight points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals. "We have good chemistry. It's crazy. We're a good team."
Carolina not only controlled the boards (47-20 rebounds) but the Tar Heels had a season-high 26 fastbreak points.
Armando Bacot, who scored 12 of his points 14 in the first half, pounded the offensive boards in the half to help Carolina open up a game that was only 20-19 UNC with eight minutes to go in the opening stanza.
It was ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis, however, who spearheaded a 12-0 run late in the first half. First he came up with a steal that led to a run-out layup and then half a minute later he drilled a transition three.
After a battling Bacot layin - following the Heels getting multiple chances on the possession - Carolina led by 19 at 46-27.
A 10-2 Tar Heel run over just two minutes early in the second half gave Carolina its biggest lead to that point at 62-41 following a Davis swished transition three with 14:34 left in the game.
The lead got as high as 27 on several occasions with the first coming on a Jae'Lyn Withers three from the right wing with 3:54 to go which made it 84-57.
UNC coach Hubert Davis said the Tar Heels got going once they increased the pace. "It was one of our most complete games of the season," he said, noting that the rebounding and speedy UNC guards led to the Heels getting opportunities off the break.
Davis led four Tar Heels in double figures with 18 points. Bacot and Cormac Ryan each scored 14 while Seth Trimble came off the bench to score 12, including a poster-worthy dunk down the lane.
Florida State was led by Primo Spears 17 points.
The Tar Heels improve to 26-6 overall, and advance to tomorrow's 7 p.m. matchup with either Wake Forest or Pitt.
