UNC vs Florida State Picks and Odds
- Florida State is a 2.5-point favorite over North Carolina on Friday night in an ACC Tournament semifinal at the Greensboro Coliseum
- The winner of this game plays Georgia Tech in the championship game Saturday
- The odds, lines, and spread for UNC-Florida State along with a prediction can be found below
After getting an unexpected day off, #2 seed Florida State will try to earn a spot in the ACC Tournament championship game when it meets #6 North Carolina in a semifinal at 8:30 pm ET on Friday at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Florida State (15-5) was scheduled to play Duke in the quarterfinals, Thursday. However, the game was cancelled because of a positive COVID-19 test in the Blue Devils’ program.
North Carolina (18-9) won its quarterfinal game over #3 Virginia Tech 81-73 as a four-point favorite but is the underdog in this matchup.
The Florida State-North Carolina winner will play #4 Georgia Tech in the final on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets got to the title game when its schedule game with Virginia on Friday was cancelled due to coronavirus issues with the Cavaliers.
North Carolina vs Florida State Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | +124 | +2.5 (-110) | Over 151 (-110) |
| Florida State | -146 | -2.5 (-110) | Under 151 (-110) |
Odds taken March 12 from FanDuel.
Florida State Looks to Rebound
Florida State finished the regular season with one its worst games last Saturday, losing at Notre Dame 83-73 as a seven-point favorite. The Fighting Irish were then routed 101-59 by North Carolina in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday.
The loss, its second in the last three games, kept Florida State from its second straight ACC regular-season title as Notre Dame broke a streak of 28 consecutive losses against ranked team.
Freshman guard Scottie Barnes led Florida State with 17 points, matching his career high. He has season averages of 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals.
Scottie Barnes called game 🚨 @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/UGdOhk7nXm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 10, 2020
Junior forward RaiQuan Gray added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard MJ Walker finished with 12 points but made just 4 of 16 field-goal attempts.
The Seminoles fell behind by as many as 20 points in the first half but cut its deficit to 74-70 with 2:34 left. However, they got no closer.
Walker is Florida State’s leading scorer at 13.1 points a game. Gray is averaging 12.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.
📍On Site#NewBlood pic.twitter.com/8qrHPSHfjw
— Florida State Men’s Basketball (@FSUHoops) March 10, 2021
Size Matters for UNC
North Carolina has been relying on its inside game and rebounding during a three-game winning streak.
Armando Bacot led the way against Virginia Tech with 17 points and 13 rebounds. That raised his season averages to 12.2 and 8.0, both team-leading figures.
📺 Highlights from the 8️⃣1️⃣-7️⃣3️⃣ ACCT win 🆚 Virginia Tech#CarolinaFamily pic.twitter.com/6DrtLMrqxe
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 12, 2021
Bacot scored 13 of those points in the second half. Ten came during an 11-2 run by the Tar Hells that broke a 49-49 tie.
North Carolina outrebounded the Hokies 27-17 in the second half, scoring 15 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds. The Tar Heels had 27 points off 25 offensive boards in beating Notre Dame.
Freshman guard RJ Davis had a team-high 19 points, including four three-pointers, on Thursday. Freshman forward Day’Ron Sharpe added 10 points and five rebounds.
𝙇𝙚𝙩 '𝙚𝙢 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 @ariidavis_ 😤#CarolinaFamily pic.twitter.com/lJhe3s2Y3B
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 12, 2021
Senior forward Garrison Brooks chipped in with five points in 21 minutes after sitting out the previous day because of an ankle injury. Brooks and freshman guard Caleb Love have 10.4 scoring averages while Sharpe is scoring 9.9 points and pulling down 7.8 rebounds a game.
Regular Season Split
The teams split a pair of regular-season games with each team winning at home, Florida State 82-75 on Jan. 16 as a four-point favorite and North Carolina 78-70 on Feb. 27 as a two-point underdog.
In Florida State’s win, Walker had 21 points and three steals and Gray added 19 points, five assists and three steals. Walker was 4 of 5 on three-pointers as the Seminoles shot 50.0% from long range. Davis scored 16 points in 20 minutes for UNC.
North Carolina overcame 21 turnovers in the second meeting as freshman forward Walker Kessler finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots in 24 minutes. Gray paced Florida State with 17 points and eight rebounds.
While North Carolina will be playing on a third straight night against rested Florida State, the Tar Heels and their big men are rolling and will be hard to beat.
Pick: North Carolina +2.5 (-110)
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
