Hubert Davis reacts to North Carolina's halftime lead over Florida State in the ACC Tournament
North Carolina finds themselves up early against Florida State in the first half of their first game of the ACC Tournament. With the Tar Heels leading the Seminoles 46-30 in the quarterfinal round in Washington, D.C.
Per usual, the ACC’s best rebounding team has been dominant on the glass, a trademark of this year’s North Carolina team that entered the conference tournament as the ACC’s top seed. As head coach Hubert Davis was pleased with how his team rebounded following the first half.
“Well that’s something that we talk about daily, that that’s who we are,” Davis said at halftime. “We’ve got to be great defensively and we gotta do a really good job rebounding on both ends of the floor. And I feel like in the first half we’ve done that, we have to do that in the second half against a really good Florida State team.”
Along with celebrating a 16-point lead at halftime, North Carolina also out-rebounded the Seminoles in the first half resoundingly 23-8. With center Armando Bacot single-handedly out-rebounding Florida State at halftime with 12 rebounds on his own along with his game leading 12 points.
But freshman Elliot Cadeau also impressed with his effort. Stuffing the stat sheet with four points, three assists, three steals, and a block in the first half. Seen diving for loose balls and playing with a high level of intensity early in his ACC Tournament debut.
“Well I think it’s important for everybody to have that type of effort,” Davis said when asked about Cadeau. “Elliot was fantastic, but I think everybody else made energy and effort plays that allowed us to put us in a position to be up in the first half. So we have to continue to do that for the rest of the game.”
Former college basketball star and current analyst Jay Williams also spoke at halftime about Cadeau’s first half and North Carolina’s overall identity that’s made them one of the strongest teams in the country this season.
“Elliot Cadeau has set the tone. Not only was he talking trash to the Duke Cameron Crazies, but he’s backing it up in the first game of the ACC Tournament with three assists,” Williams said to ESPN’s Seth Greenberg. “But Seth more importantly you talk about what they’re doing on the defensive end, they’ve forced seven turnovers for 15 points. It’s plays like this by Carolina that are the differentiator of why this team has a legit chance to not only be a one-seed, but to win a national championship.”
The Tar Heels will look to keep their foot on the gas in the second half and secure their third victory of the season against Florida State with a trip to the ACC Tournament semifinals on the line.