North Carolina forward Armando Bacot reacts after he dunked against Duke during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 4, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball paraprofessional fired for alleged..
From the beginning, FSU had the advantage. They took the opening possession of the game and quickly took advantage of it when forward Baba Miller dunk.
Senior guard RJ Davis surged through the lane to secure a fast layup, giving UNC its first reaction after graduate guard Cormac Ryan and rookie guard Elliot Cadeau missed two 3-point tries.
The remainder of the game continued in this vein: rough, hard-fought basketball. In the end, though, No. 4 UNC (26-6, 18-3) proved to be the more formidable opponent against FSU (17-16, 10-11 ACC), winning 92-67 to progress to the ACC Tournament semifinals.
The ACC Player of the Year, senior guard RJ Davis, led the Tar Heels in scoring with 18, while graduate center Armando Bacot and sophomore forward Harrison Ingram led the team in rebounds with 10 apiece.
The game’s first two minutes were slow, but soon both teams were making hard-earned baskets, and the scoring heated up. The first few minutes had a fast-paced tempo that allowed numerous players from both teams to score immediately.
The Tar Heels came out of the first quarter with newfound vigor. UNC was able to get the ball into the paint and into the hands of sophomore forward Jalen Washington thanks to an assist from Cadeau, despite the Seminoles putting up a strong full-court trap.
“That’s what makes our team unique,” Ingram remarked. “It doesn’t matter who it is, whether it’s RJ, Elliot, Mondo, me, Cormac — I mean, if one person brings the energy, everyone’s going to pick it up.”
From then on, North Carolina managed to gradually pull ahead with a sizable advantage. FSU’s scoring stagnated as a result of its ardent defensive attempts. In the meantime, the Tar Heels—Ryan and Davis in particular—began to gain momentum and penetrate the FSU defense.
Ryan said, “Armando, Harrison, everyone in there.” “They’re just as physical as can be, and that was a big swing for us.”
UNC had the advantage at halftime, 46–30.
Bacot was first on the board after emerging from the locker room, opening the second quarter with a two-handed dunk. The Tar Heels then seized complete command. With multiple 3-pointers from Ryan and Davis and hard effort in the paint from Bacot, UNC took a commanding lead.
Ten minutes remained in the game, and UNC’s Thursday afternoon culminated in a spectacular one-handed slam by sophomore guard Seth Trimble, who launched himself through the air.
After 40 minutes, North Carolina prevailed, preventing the Seminoles from ever getting near again and enabling its bench players to play for the entirety of the game’s conclusion.
In reality, we’re just taking each game as it comes,” Washington remarked. “So we’re not looking too far ahead.”
The Tar Heels’ ACC Tournament Semifinal matchup with Wake Forest or Pitt is set to begin at 7:30 on Friday.
