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Florida State Basketball: Biggest keys to upsetting North Carolina

By Brian Rauf

MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 27: The Florida State Seminoles bench reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Watsco Center on January 27, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 27: The Florida State Seminoles bench reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Watsco Center on January 27, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FLORIDA – JANUARY 27: Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the first half at Watsco Center on January 27, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA – JANUARY 27: Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the first half at Watsco Center on January 27, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Florida State is the hottest team in the ACC and can join the top tier with a win Saturday against North Carolina. Here are the biggest keys to making that happen.

Florida State had largely been written off following a 1-4 star to ACC play, but they enter Saturday’s game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill on an eight-game win streak looking for validation.

The Seminoles currently reside at No. 16 in the AP poll thanks to this win streak and have people believing in this team once again. As head coach Leonard Hamilton told the Tallahassee Democrat, that belief resonates within the locker room.

"“I don’t know if there’s anything magical about it other than we have guys who play to each other. They have the motto that they’re 18 strong. That’s kind of the way they feel that’s best for us and they’ve accepted that.”"

However, most of this streak has come against lesser competition. North Carolina is the best team the Noles have played since the loss to Duke over a month ago, and it’s the first road game they’re playing against a ranked team since they were blown out by Virginia in early January.

The Tar Heels are also playing at a very high level after handily beating Duke this week. They’re now tied for first in the ACC and are looking to improve their seeding going into the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, Florida State is fighting for the No. 4 seed and a double-bye in the ACC Tournament, adding to the stakes in this showdown.

What do the Seminoles have to do to win on Saturday? Here are the three biggest keys to the game:

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