National Basketball Association
Florida State 69, North Carolina 66
When: 8:30 PM ET, Friday, March 12, 2021
Where: Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, North Carolina
Officials:
# Bert Smith, # Roger Ayers, # Clarence Armstrong
Attendance:
2820
By Field Level Media
Balsa Koprivica amassed 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots to help 15th-ranked Florida State edge North Carolina 69-66 in an Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinal on Friday night in Greensboro, N.C.
Second-seeded Florida State (16-5) will try to win its first ACC tournament title since 2012 and second all-time when it opposes Georgia Tech on Saturday night.
The fourth-seeded Yellow Jackets advanced to the final on Friday after top-seeded Virginia was forced to pull out of the tournament due to a COVID-19 positive test. The two teams each played only one game to reach the championship game.
The Seminoles got a walkover win Thursday when 10th-seeded Duke withdrew due to a positive COVID-19 test. Florida State advanced to the ACC tournament final the last time it was held in 2019 but lost to the Blue Devils.
North Carolina (18-10) came up short in its bid to win its first ACC tournament championship since 2016 and 19th overall.
Koprivica shot 7-for-11 from the field and hit one of two free throws to help seal the victory for Florida State down the stretch.
Anthony Polite's 3-pointer with 2:09 left gave the Seminoles the lead for good.
With less than a minute left, North Carolina's RJ Davis drove into traffic at the rim but couldn't get a shot up while defended well by Scottie Barnes. That led to RaiQuan Gray hitting a pair of free throws to push the lead to 67-64.
North Carolina's Day'Ron Sharpe missed a pair of free throws and Gray collected another rebound.
The Tar Heels, who averaged 91 points per game over their previous three games, were held to 24 points in the first half on 8-for-30 shooting (26.7 percent). They were 1-for-7 from 3-point range and 7-for-14 from the foul line in the opening 20 minutes.
But Caleb Love, who led North Carolina on the night with 13 points, and Kerwin Walton, who finished with 11 points, propelled the Tar Heels on an 11-0 run that produced a 51-46 second-half lead.
Armando Bacot scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Tar Heels.
Barnes finished with 11 points for Florida State, and M.J. Walker and Malik Osborne each added nine points.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| North Carolina |
|
Florida State |
|
Caleb Love 13 |
Scoring |
Balsa Koprivica 17 |
|
RJ Davis 2 |
Assists |
Scottie Barnes 4 |
|
Garrison Brooks 8 |
Rebounds |
Balsa Koprivica 11 |
|
Garrison Brooks 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Raiquan Gray 4 |
|
Armando Bacot 2 |
Steals |
Scottie Barnes 2 |
|
Armando Bacot 2 |
Blocks |
Balsa Koprivica 4 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| North Carolina
|
66 |
33.8 |
6-18 |
14-25 |
9 |
38 |
4 |
8 |
12 |
| Florida State
|
69 |
45.3 |
5-13 |
16-22 |
11 |
35 |
7 |
8 |
18 |
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