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FSU basketball: Three keys to victory for Noles against North Carolina

By Kelvin Hunt

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Devin Vassell #24 of the Florida State Seminoles shoots the ball against Josh Perkins #13 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 28, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Devin Vassell #24 of the Florida State Seminoles shoots the ball against Josh Perkins #13 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 28, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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No. 8 FSU basketball returns to the hardwood on short rest Monday night to take on a struggling North Carolina team. Here are my three keys to victory.

FSU basketball (18-3, 8-2 ACC) will be back on their home court after back-to-back road games in Virginia where they went 1-1 on the week.

North Carolina (10-11, 3-7 ACC) is coming off a hard-fought home loss against Boston College Saturday night so they will be playing with short rest.

Their star player Cole Anthony returned to action after missing several games and will be on the court against the Noles Monday night.

FSU basketball is a sizable betting favorite according to the Action Network with an expected score of around 76-67.

It’s a game the Noles need to win to keep pace with Louisville and Duke who are among the leaders in the ACC standings.

Three Keys To Victory

  • Defend The Post
  • Limit Cole Anthony
  • Crash The Boards

UNC isn’t a great shooting team and will look to try to get the ball inside to its big man Garrison Brooks or Armando Bacot.

Neither are particularly skilled with low post moves but are big bodies, so it’ll be important to make them earn it down low. A side note, both are lackluster at the free-throw line at 59 and 65 percent respectively.

Cole Anthony has averaged nearly 20 ppg in the 10 games he’s played. He had 26 points against Boston College, but 14 of those were from the free-throw line  where he was 14-14. If possible, make him take jump shots or three-pointers where he hasn’t shown any real consistency.

North Carolina is always a good rebounding team, and while they are not good this season this area still holds. They average 10 more rebounds per game than the Noles and 32 percent of their rebounds are of the offensive variety. FSU must limit them on the offensive boards and not give them any extra possessions which have been a weakness against strong rebounding teams this year.

Final Thoughts

The Tuck Center is going to be packed and the Noles usually play well in front of their home crowd.

I’m sure the atmosphere is going to be electric even though North Carolina isn’t as good as usual.

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It’s a game the Noles should win and hopefully, they’ll continue with how they played against Virginia Tech last time out.

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