The Flordia State Seminoles take on vs The Tar Heels of North Carolina. Florida State didn’t start off as a ranked in the Way-Too-Early NCAA Preseason rankings. On the other hand, the North Carolina Tar Heels started the season ranked number 7. On Saturday, we will have a battle of two top-11 teams in the entire NCAA. Florida State is ranked 9th with a record 14-1 and is undefeated in the ACC conference at 4-0. North Carolina is currently ranked 11th with a 15-3 record and 3-1 in the conference. Two ACC teams battling are always a great contest to see and let’s break down why this game is a MUST-SEE!
#9 Florida State Seminoles
Star guard Dwayne Bacon
The Florida State Seminoles are my surprise team of the 2017 season. They’re coming off three straight wins against top-rated ACC teams. Beating teams like #12 Virginia,#21 Virginia and most recently #7 Duke. With the win against Duke, Florida State has put itself on the map as a real contending team. The Seminoles beat Duke 88-72 in a contest that was over by the middle of the 2nd half. Their stars Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes stepped up big. Meanwhile, Dwayne Bacon struggled with his shot but controlled the game and played tough defense. His 13 points with 6 rebounds and 5 assists really didn’t tell the entire story. Xavier Rathan-Mayes also added 21 points while shooting 7-13 from the field. The Seminoles defense stood out the most watching the game. They held Duke to only 41% from the field which is their lowest in a loss this season. In the upcoming match-up against North Carolina, their impact players must step up. Nevertheless, players like Jonathan Issac and Terance Mann must step up to help Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes.
#11 North Carolina Tar Heels
Joel Berry ll (left), Nate Britt (center), and Theo Pinson (right)
The North Carolina Tar Heels are coming off a close win against Wake Forest which makes it their 3rd straight win. Justin Jackson hit a big 3-pointer with 1:01 left in the 2nd half to put the game out of reach. He also added 19 points and 8 rebounds plus hitting 3 out of 5 threes. The entire starting 5 had monster games by them all having double digits numbers in scoring. Joel Berry ll has been proving he’s a real star in the NCAA pouring in 18 points and 7 assists. Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks showed by they’re one of the best frontcourts in college basketball. Combined they had 34 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks. After the blowout win against NC State and the tough win against Wake Forest, the Tar Heels will look to build on their current streak.
The Preview: The Seminoles vs The Tar Heels
Top picture: Dwayne Bacon (left) and Xavier Rathan-Mayes (right) Bottom picture: Justin Jackson (left) Kennedy Meeks (right)
Looking ahead we have on of the best games of the year. A Florida State Seminoles and North Carolina Tar Heels match-up isn’t usually a game that would be big but this year is different. Both teams are out to prove to the world that they’re the best team in the ACC Conference. If you are a fan of fast-paced uptempo style games, you should tune in on Saturday, January 14th, at 2 PM E.T. The Seminoles and Tar Heels like to play tough defense and run the fast break to get easy buckets. The match-up to watch for is guard Justin Jackson vs guard Dewayne Bacon. Both have stepped up on the scoring end averaging 17 ppg. Whichever team can dominate the rebounding should have the advantage as North Carolina makes their living this way. If Florida State continues to put up high scoring totals this could be the most exciting ACC game we’ve had this season.
