By R.L. Bynum
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Elliot Cadeau is becoming an aggressive engine that drives No. 3 North Carolina’s offense just as much as RJ Davis.
A first-half stretch Saturday proved that the freshman point guard is essential with his ability to whip by defenders and deliver feathery passes.
UNC needed to withstand a furious Florida State rally that sliced a 10-point second-half lead to two with 2:36 left. But RJ Davis scored the game’s last five points as the Tar Heels held on for a 75–68 victory at the Tucker Center to extend their win streak to 10.
Davis scored a huge bucket on a drive with 44 seconds left, and Harrison Ingram, who produced his sixth double-double (13 points, 17 rebounds), sealed it with 11 seconds left when he blocked Jamir Watkins’ shot on a drive.
“We don’t panic there. There’s a calmness and a confidence about this group that’s always been there,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis, whose team has outscored its last eight opponents by 85 points and hasn’t lost in six weeks.
RJ Davis led the league-leading Tar Heels (17–3, 9–0 ACC) again with 24 points, but Cadeau’s impressive progression continued as he finished with a season-high 16 points while dishing out six assists.
“His ability to break down a defense and to score, and to distribute was huge for us,” said Coach Davis, who was happy to see his team go from 12 first-half turnovers to only four after halftime. “The way that Florida State plays defensively — their length, their athleticism — you have to have guys that can create shots and Elliot is one of those guys.”
Cadeau effectively created catch-and-shoot 3-point opportunities when he drew defenders to him.
“He does a great job of setting people up, and also does a great job of being aggressive, getting down the lane,” RJ Davis said. “He’s a special player, a special talent.”
Florida State (12–8, 6–3) charged ahead and took a five-point halftime lead while Cadeau sat for the last 6:29 of the first half with two fouls. He scored seven of 10 straight Tar Heels points during a 25–8 second-half run that built a 10-point lead.
“He’s an important part of our team by the way that he can distribute and can create,” Coach Davis said. “I always like a number of ball handlers out there on the floor, especially against teams like Florida State where they force you into so many one-on-one situations. You need as many playmakers out there as well.”
Cadeau says his confidence is soaring.
“I’m just getting more confident in myself. I’m figuring out really how to get my shots within like the play style without forcing anything,” Cadeau said. “I think my confidence is just the coaches trusting me more, putting the ball in my hands more and calling sets that actually get me downhill.”
Cadeau only turned the ball over three times. But he has high standards and seemed frustrated with every one of them. After one turnover, he banged his hand on the top of his head in disgust.
“I felt like my teammate was wide open, and my man deflected the ball,” said Cadeau, who made a season-high eight free throws. “I felt like it was a really bad time for me to turn the ball over. So, I was mad and upset.”
Except for Armando Bacot (who scored a season-low five points for the second straight game, and only had four rebounds), all of the starters put up good numbers, with Cormac Ryan scoring 16 points.
Coach Davis has emphasized doing good work “in the trenches,” and he said that ultimately made the difference on Saturday.
“In the trenches, that’s where the rebounds, the loose balls, the talking on defense, the box outs, coming to the ball when teams are pressing, taking care of the basketball, making open shots, executing an offensive end — the little things that mean so many big things, especially down the stretch,” Coach Davis said.
The Seminoles’ length created havoc, which Carolina gradually counteracted early in the second half by pushing the tempo to avoid dealing with that in half-court sets.
Four straight 3-pointers — two each from Davis and Ingram — gave UNC an eight-point lead at the first television timeout before a Bacot three-point play made it 19–8.
FSU cut it to four on an 11–3 run, during which UNC missed two consecutive layup attempts, to cut the lead to three with 9:46 left in the first half.
Carolina led 28–25 with 6:29 left in the first half when Cadeau went to the bench for the rest of the half with two fouls, with FSU outscoring UNC 16–8 during that time.
Primo Spears hit two of three consecutive Seminoles 3-pointers, the second capping a 15–3 run to give the Noles a 37–31 lead with 2:47 left in the first half.
Davis’ jumper with 4:11 left ended a nearly four-minute UNC field-goal drought to tie it at 31 with 4:11 left. A Paxson Wojcik follow shot and a Ryan free throw cut the Noles’ lead by halftime to 41–36 after FSU had a 19–3 edge in points off turnovers.
Two Ryan 3-pointers sparked a UNC run to tie it on Davis’ transition layup three minutes into the second half. A Cadeau three-point play and his drive gave the Tar Heels the lead for good with that 10–0 run with 14:03 left.
Another Ryan 3-pointer pushed the lead to 10 with 8:13 left.
Back-to-back Chandler Jackson jumpers capped a 7–0 FSU run to cut UNC’s lead to three with 5:59 left. Consecutive layups by Davis and Ingram pushed it back to seven before Spears’ steal and layup capped a Seminoles 5–0 run to cut the lead to two with 2:36 left.
Spears led FSU with 15 points and three 3-pointers.
NOTES — Carolina is on the road again on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN) against Georgia Tech (9–10, 2–6), which played at Virginia Tech on Saturday, before hosting No. 12 Duke at 6:30 next Saturday (ESPN) with ESPN’s “GameDay” on hand. The Blue Devils (15–4, 6–2) beat Clemson 72–71 Saturday. … Carolina is 9–0 in the ACC for the first time since 2001. … UNC trailed at halftime for the second straight road game after BC had a 34–31 lead a week earlier. … UNC was in the bonus for the last 13:10 of the game. … Carolina finished a season sweep of FSU and has swept at least one ACC opponent in all 71 seasons in the league. … UNC leads the all-time series with Florida State 54–16, including 18–8 in the Tuckerc Center, and has won all three meetings under Coach Hubert Davis. … UNC became the first ACC team with 750 league wins with the victory. … The Tar Heels’ 10-game win streak is the longest since an 11-game streak that began with their run to the 2017 NCAA title and finished with a 5–0 start to the 2017–18 season. … Carolina has held 10 consecutive road ACC opponents to 70 points. That’s the longest-such streak since the Tar Heels did it for13 consecutive league games from Feb. 11, 1980, to Jan. 23, 1982 (the Tar Heels went 10-3 in those games). … Carolina tied its season-high with 17 turnovers (also in the loss to Kentucky). The Seminoles scored 26 points off those turnovers, the most by an opponent this season (Kentucky scored 19). … Carolina outrebounded FSU 41–32 the ninth straight game UNC has outrebounded the opponents (won all nine). The Tar Heels are +122 on the boards in the nine games.
No. 3 UNC 75, Florida State 68
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 4 North Carolina | 17–3 | 25–6 |
| No. 11 Duke | 15–5 | 24–7 |
| Virginia | 13–7 | 22–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 12–8 | 21–10 |
| Clemson | 11–9 | 21–10 |
| Syracuse | 11–9 | 20–11 |
| Wake Forest | 11–9 | 19–12 |
| Virginia Tech | 10–10 | 18–13 |
| Florida State | 10–10 | 16–15 |
| N.C. State | 9–11 | 17–13 |
| Boston College | 8–12 | 17–14 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–12 | 14–17 |
| Notre Dame | 7–13 | 12–19 |
| Miami | 6–14 | 15–16 |
| Louisville | 3–17 | 8–22 |
Saturday’s games
No. 4 North Carolina 84, No. 11 Duke 79
Virginia Tech 82, Notre Dame 76
Florida State 83, Miami 75
Boston College 67, Louisville 61
Wake Forest 81, Clemson 76
Pittsburgh 81, N.C. State 73
Virginia 72, Georgia Tech 57
ACC tournament
March 12–16, Capitol One Arena, Washington
UNC season statistics
| Date | Month/day | Score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 27 | Friday | W, 117–53 | vs. St. Augustine’s | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 6 | Monday | W, 86–70 | vs. Radford | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 90–68 | vs. Lehigh | 2–0 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 77–52 | vs. UC Riverside | 3–0 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas | ||||
| 22 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | Northern Iowa | 4–0 |
| 23 | Thursday | L, 83–81, OT | Villanova | 4–1 |
| 24 | Friday | W, 87–72 | Arkansas | 5–1 |
| ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | ||||
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 100–92 | vs. No. 6 Tennessee | 6–1 |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 78–70 | vs. Florida State | 7–1, 1–0 ACC |
| Jimmy V Classic in New York | ||||
| 5 | Tuesday | L, 87–67 | No. 1 Connecticut | 7–2 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 16 | Saturday | L, 87–83 | No. 12 Kentucky | 7–3 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 20 | Wednesday | W, 81–69 | Oklahoma | 8–3 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 105–60 | vs. Charleston Southern | 9–3 |
| January | ||||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 70–57 | at Pittsburgh | 10–3, 2–0 ACC |
| 6 | Saturday | W, 65–55 | at Clemson | 11–3, 3–0 ACC |
| 10 | Wednesday | W, 67–54 | at N.C. State | 12–3, 4–0 ACC |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 103–67 | vs. Syracuse | 13–3, 5–0 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 86–70 | vs. Louisville | 14–3, 6–0 ACC |
| 20 | Saturday | W, 76–66 | vs. Boston College | 15–3, 7–0 ACC |
| 22 | Monday | W, 85–64 | vs. Wake Forest | 16–3, 8–0 ACC |
| 27 | Saturday | W, 75–68 | at Florida State | 17–3, 9–0 ACC |
| 30 | Tuesday | L, 74–73 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 9–1 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | W, 93–84 | vs. No. 13 Duke | 18–4, 10–1 ACC |
| 6 | Tuesday | L, 80–76 | vs. Clemson | 18–5, 10–2 ACC |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 75–72 | at Miami | 19–5, 11–2 ACC |
| 13 | Tuesday | L, 86–79 | at Syracuse | 19–6, 11–3 ACC |
| 17 | Saturday | W, 96–81 | vs. Virginia Tech | 20–6, 12–3 ACC |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 54–44 | at Virginia | 21–6, 13–3 ACC |
| 26 | Monday | W, 75–71 | vs. Miami | 22–6, 14–3 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 79–70 | vs. N.C. State | 23–6, 15–3 ACC |
| 5 | Tuesday | W, 84–51 | vs. Notre Dame | 24–6, 16–3 ACC |
| 9 | Saturday | W, 84–79 | at No. 13 Duke | 25–6, 17–3 ACC |
| ACC tournament Washington | ||||
| 14 | Thursday | W, 92–67 | Quarterfinals: Florida State | 26–6 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 72–65 | Semifinals: Pittsburgh | 27–6 |
| 16 | Saturday | L, 84–76 | Final: N.C. State | 27–7 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 21 | Thursday | W, 90–62 | First round in Charlotte: Wagner | 28–7 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 85–69 | Second round in Charlotte: Michigan State | 29–7 |
| 28 | Thursday | L, 89–87 | Sweet 16 in Los Angeles: No. 19 Alabama | 29–8 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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