FSU Basketball: 3 reasons Noles took big loss against North Carolina

FSU basketball got hustled in their matchup against UNC. I discuss three reasons why the Noles had their eight game winning streak snapped.

No. 16 FSU basketball went into the North Carolina game as arguably the hottest team in the ACC.

The winner of a FSU record eight straight, a win on the road against a top 10 team would have likely secured a top four seed in the ACC Tournament.

However, FSU lost a game that easily could have been a blowout in the first half if not for some key three-pointers the Noles made. They were lucky to only be down three points at halftime.

Defensively, the Noles played well and held UNC below their seasonal averages on field goals and three-point shooting. FSU basketball had eight blocks and only turned the ball over 10 times, so one might ask how they got blown out?

Three Reasons

• Poor Shot Selection-Credit has to be given to UNC’s defense as they typically hold teams to just over 40 percent shooting. Well, they held FSU to 30.5 percent from the field. However, FSU missed wide open shots and just took dumb shots period. An amazing 53 percent of their total shots were three-pointers. Some of that may have been influenced by trying to get back in the game after it got a way from them. However, that’s just too many three pointers for a team that wasn’t shooting it well.
• Crushed on the boards-The Noles got crushed on the boards. UNC was +15 overall and +7 on the offensive boards. That led to a lot of second chance points for the Tarheels and that can’t be allowed against good teams, especially when you’re struggling offensively.
• Didn’t Play To Their Strengths-Mfiondu Kabengele took five shots in the game. Terrance Mann took six shots. Phil Cofer took six shots and M.J. Walker didn’t make one field goal the entire game.

Final Thoughts

It was a game that FSU played poorly offensively and were only down six points with 11 minutes remaining on the road against the No. 8 team in the country. There are no moral victories, but that’s a testament to FSU’s ability to play defense.

It’s games like this one that always worry me about FSU’s chances of going deep in the tournament at times. FSU can’t lose sight of what helped them win eight straight games, but that’s what happened Saturday.

The key to what’s next is not allowing this loss to turn into a loss against a terrible Notre Dame team Monday night.