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ACC Roundup - Florida State Nearly Pulls Off Another Comeback

As UNC hangs on for the win

By JD King
/ new
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: FEB 27 North Carolina at Florida State
UNC Seth Trimble drives on Florida State’s Caleb Mills

In Monday’s ACC Action, UNC got ridiculously hot in the first half, hitting 11 threes, and building a lead that Florida State cut into but could never overcome.

This is even more impressive when you realize how ineffective Armando Bacot was. Though he did get eight rebounds, he got in early foul trouble and scored just a single point in 21 minutes.

And it didn't matter.

The other starters made it up, largely on threes. Leaky Black? 3-4 on threes. RJ Davis? 3-7 Caleb Love? 3-7. And Pete Nance? 3-6.

FSU kept coming though. Down 43-25 at the half, the ‘Notes rallied to cut the lead t0 64-60 with just 2:45 left.

And that, as they say, was that.

UNC played well in clutch time, hitting three shots and hit 7-8 from the line to nail the win down.

And they did it largely without Bacot, which is really impressive. The Heels also used their bench, which Hubert Davis hasn’t always done.

UNC has now won three straight and while their tournament case is still shaky - they only have a single quad-1 win (we think Kansas has 15) - every bit helps build their case.

Right now, UNC is in seventh place in the ACC behind NC State. Depending on what happens Tuesday night between Duke and NC State, UNC could match the Pack in the standings (and with the tiebreaker going their way) and of course Duke and UNC play Saturday.

But the Heels can’t get any higher than sixth place. Add in the lack of quality wins and it’s a tough sell.

Tuesday is a busy day for the ACC. Clemson visits Virginia, Georgia Tech goes to Syracuse, BC flies down to Winston-Salem to take on the Demon Deacons and Louisville welcomes Virginia Tech to the Yum! Center.

Virginia just hasn’t been good lately and Clemson has. It’s a big opportunity for the Tigers who are not 100 percent certain of a bid.

Georgia Tech is weak but they’ve shown some guts lately. However, if they shoot poorly against the zone, they’re not going to beat the Orange unless they defend better and get easy baskets.

We love what Earl Grant is building at Boston College. His team always plays hard and Quentin Post has been a revelation. Could they take Wake on the road?

Yes. Not sure they will, but they’re fully capable.

Finally, Louisville has done better lately but still struggles. Virginia Tech has a big hole in the middle (on both ends), but it won't matter as much here, especially if the Hokies shoot well.

We were watching the UNC game when we saw the announcement that Terry Holland had died. He was a great coach for Virginia, taking them to places they had barely dreamed of - an ACC title, a Final Four and winning a recruiting battle for the #1 player in high school in the legendary class of 1979, Ralph Sampson.

He conducted himself with class and honor and rarely made a misstep. By all accounts, he was a very good man. He’ll be missed.

Tuesday’s ACC Action

  • Clemson vs. Virginia || 7:00 PM || ACCN
  • NC State vs. Duke || 7:00 PM || ESPN
  • Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse || 7:00 PM || ACCNX
  • Boston College vs. Wake Forest || 7:00 PM || ESPNU
  • Virginia Tech vs. Louisville || 9:00 PM || ACCN

ACC Standings

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