Florida State (7-7, 0-1 ACC) lost 79-66 to the North Carolina Tarheels (13-1, 1-0 ACC) to open ACC play on Tuesday night.
The Noles kept it respectable for the first 25 minutes, trailing by six points at halftime and only three points with 13:34 remaining in the second half.
However, FSU missed a layup and lost its composure, jacking up 11 three-point shots in the first nine minutes of the second half, missing all 11 attempts resulting in a 62-46 deficit with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
FSU finished the game 12 of 40 from the three-point line. We mentioned in the preview that FSU would have to catch fire from three-point land to have a shot in this one. However, the three-pointer they made at the buzzer helped FSU cover the spread.
FSU cut the lead to 10 with 4:40 remaining, but couldn’t muster anything to make a legit run at making it a game.
North Carolina dominated on the boards and in the paint as we predicted in the game preview. North Carolina had double the amount of offensive rebounds and outscored FSU 42-20 in the paint. They only had eight turnovers and scored 20 points in transition.
It was classic North Carolina basketball as FSU doesn’t have the personnel to match them inside. FSU did a solid job taking care of the ball with only seven turnovers with eight minutes to go in the game. However, they only had four fastbreak points and were only 8-14 from the free-throw line.
Chauncey Wiggins led the Noles with 13 points and 10 rebounds. North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson led the Tarheels with 22 points and 16 rebounds.
It won't get any easier for the Noles as they welcome the Duke Blue Devils to the Tucker Center to open 2026 on Saturday afternoon.