Tar Heels Take Tallahassee

There were plenty of great games Wednesday in college basketball. Pittsburgh knocked off South Florida, Duke defeated Clemson and West Virginia took it to 16th ranked UConn. Then there were the Tar Heels, who harassed ACC opponent, Florida State 72-70 in Tallahassee. Freshman, Harrison Barnes, hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with three ticks on the clock to lift NC over the Seminoles. The 18 year old silenced the boisterous FSU home crowd after the Seminoles rallied from seven down in the second half. The Tar Heels now lead the ACC by a half-game over Duke. John Henson turned in 19 points and 12 rebounds in the win as the Heels locked up a number two seed in the ACC tournament. The men in powdered blue jerseys can clinch a top seed with a win over the Blue Devils on Saturday.
Florida State fell short of their bid to complete an undefeated conference record at home. The first half saw nine lead changes and nine ties. Derwin Kitchen had 13 points overall for FSU, who led by seven midway through the first half. Backup, Ian Miller, had a big first half and finished the game with seven points and four assists for the home team. North Carolina earned the rebounding edge and shot 47.2 during the contest. Henson took over the first half with three blocked shots and six rebounds. The towering sophomore tapped in 10 first half buckets but the visitors still trailed by a point at the break. Florida State’s bench outscored NC’s reserves 20-5.
FSU guard, Michael Snaer added 11 points as the ‘Noles played without top shooter, Chris Singleton. FSU’s tremendous defense has kept them ahead of the pack in the ACC. Last night the Tar Heels trumped that tenacious defense, forcing the ‘Noles to scramble off balance in the end. North Carolina took the lead midway through the second half. . Leslie McDonald contributed 10 points for the Tar Heels, including a pair of treys that gave NC a five point lead with just over fourteen minutes remaining. Kendall Marshall knotted a three-pointer with four minutes to go to lift the Tar Heels to a seven point advantage. North Carolina won their fifth straight game on FSU’s court after fighting off the ‘Noles one point lead with 18 seconds left. Kitchen’s free throws gave the Seminoles a 70-69 advantage but the home team turned the ball over and Barnes sealed the deal with the game winning basket.

Parting points: The NFL is considering extending the collective bargaining agreement talks. I just hope they settle because a year without football would be devastating.