WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the number one seed in the ACC Tournament for 2024, UNC basketball wasted little time showing off its skills.
The fourth-seeded Tar Heels, who defeated Florida State 92-67 at Capital One Arena on Thursday, set the tone for the quarterfinals with a dominant first half.
RJ Davis and Cormac Ryan combined to make a few three-pointers, Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram were grabbing rebounds, while Elliot Cadeau was diving on the court and throwing out passes.
The ACC Player of the Year, Anthony Davis, led an all-around effort with eighteen points for UNC (26-6). The team will play Wake Forest or Pitt at 7 p.m. on Friday in the first semifinal match.
Basketball scores for Duke, UNC, and the ACC Tournament are updated here. NC State will host the Blue Devils.
RJ Davis and Hubert Davis of UNC basketball led the All-ACC accolades.Joel Berry, the basketball player for UNC, discusses the Tar Heels' hopes in March Madness and the 2016 ACC Tournament.What was noteworthy about the Tar Heels' inaugural game in Washington, D.C. vs FSU (17-16)?
Basketball at UNC remained aggressive. 62 of the Tar Heels' 92 points came from the paint or the free-throw line, demonstrating that they were not jumpshot happy against the physical Seminoles. With a season-high 24 fast-break points and 21 points off of 10 FSU mistakes, UNC's defense lived up to its reputation. This strategy has the potential to win a championship in the nation's capital and helped the Tar Heels capture the ACC regular-season title.
Tar Heels' Armando Bacot's aggressivenessArmando Bacot displayed more aggression in his final ACC Tournament performance, which resulted in 12 points and seven rebounds in the first half. UNC grabbed four offensive rebounds in a row during one play, and Bacot ended the run with a layup. Bacot played against a Florida State squad that leads the nation in average height and finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
UNC will next play Pitt or Wake Forest.
During the regular season, the Tar Heels played Wake Forest and Pitt, winning both games. In their first away game of the season, UNC defeated Pitt 70-57 on January 2 and Wake Forest 85-64 in the Smith Center on January 22. In terms of the NCAA Tournament, those two opponents are regarded as bubble teams.