FSU basketball: Takeaways from ‘Noles win over North Carolina
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU basketball (7-2, 3-1 ACC) took care of business 82-75 against the North Carolina Tarheels Saturday afternoon in an entertaining affair.
The Noles were without freshman sensation Scottie Barnes, but it was senior M.J. Walker who led the way with 21 points.
Raiqun Gray stepped up big-time with 18 points, and Balsa Koprivica, Rayquan Evans, and Malik Osborne had 10 points.
FSU continued its hot shooting from the floor with 48 percent overall and 50 percent from three-point range. However, it was the second consecutive game we’ve seen FSU limit the amount of three-point shots they took and that has made them more efficient offensively.
They took the ball to the rim often and was able to get to the free-throw line 27 times and made 26 of them. The consistency at the free-throw line the last two games has been amazing (37 of 38).
It was a game of runs with FSU basketball opening up leads of eight to 10 points, with UNC making runs of their own with some key three-point shooting of their own. North Carolina shot 43.5 percent from the floor but made 10 of 24 from three-point range.
The battle of the boards was a stalemate which is a win for the Noles. They were able to be +1 and limited UNC to only nine offensive rebounds in the game.
One area the Noles needed to improve was the 17 turnovers, with many of them coming early. However, when it was crunch time, the Noles played their best ball. They attacked the rim and converted a couple of And-1 plays late while closing on shooters and forcing them to put the ball on the floor instead of taking shots they were making in the game.
Overall, it was a great win for Leonard Hamilton, and it looks like the long layoff after the Clemson loss allowed him to figure out some things with this team.
Next. Takeaways from McKenzie Milton Press Conference. dark
FSU basketball will have a quick turnaround when they travel to No. 16 Louisville Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.