Florida State vs North Carolina: 2019-20 key storylines for ACC matchup

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Cole Anthony #2 talks with head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of their game against the Boston College Eaglesat the Dean Smith Center on February 01, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

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SUNRISE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 21: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

The North Carolina Tar Heels and the FSU Seminoles each played on Saturday but earned different results. Both teams will have to put those games in the rearview as they face each other in a quick turnaround contest on Monday night.

North Carolina went into their home game with the Boston College Eagles riding higher than they have been for a month. They had won two games in a row in a fairly convincing fashion and were getting their best player back. UNC was finally starting to establish an identity on offense and with the first installment of the Duke rivalry next Saturday was looking to keep the ball rolling.

Things did not go as planned. Cole Anthony returned to lead the Heels with a solid 26-pts 5-reb 3-ast 2-stl performance including 14-14 on free throws. Unfortunately for UNC, their other star, Garrison Brooks, had trouble adjusting to Anthony’s return to the lineup. He only had 10 points on 5-15 shooting while adding ten rebounds and a pair of assists.

However, after hitting two quick buckets in the first four minutes, he had only three field goals for the rest of the game. This corresponded with Cole Anthony entering at 15:45 of the first half and dictating the offense. From this point, the Heels went away from consistently feeding the post to Brooks and Bacot, who also got off to a hot start.

The duo of Anthony and Brooks combined for only one basket during the game. It came on a drive and feed from Anthony when the defense stepped up to contain him at the 13:25 mark of the second half. He dumped it off for Brooks who scored and was fouled but missed the free throw attempt and was 0-7 from the stripe on the game.

The Heels also saw the return of back point guard Jeremiah Francis but he played sparingly. Although UNC got some help with their guard depth to start the game, they may have lost one back in Brandon Robinson to an injury that happened with 17 seconds left. He came down wrong on his ankle after being called for a controversial foul that produced the go-ahead points that BC needed to steal the road win.

With a quick trip to Tallahassee for a game Monday, what can North Carolina do to get the victory and some confidence heading into the weekend showdown with Duke?

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