Hubert Davis details what he learned in first matchup with Florida State

No. 3 North Carolina sits at 16-3 overall as the top team in the Atlantic Coast Conference by two games with an undefeated, 8-0 mark in conference play. That first league win came over Florida State (12-7, 6-2), who currently holds at second place, back on December 2nd. Now, nearly two months later, the two will meet for the second time this weekend in Tallahassee

Hubert Davis previewed the Tar Heels’ second game against the Seminoles during his press conference on Friday. To start, he focused on what the UNC offense needed to do on Saturday. He wanted to see movement and penetration in order to deal with their defense while also noting a focus on protecting the ball within all that motion.

“Well, I mean, from an offensive standpoint? It’s really important for us with ball and player movement. They’re so long and athletic, they switch everything on and off the ball. They take a lot out of your regular offensive sets and you have to create,” said Davis. “It’s just really important for us to get out in transition. It’s very important for us to drive, get to the basket, and not necessarily score but draw defenders. Then be able to pass out, be able to shoot threes, and create shots off the dribble drive.”

“We’ve got to take care of the basketball,” Davis added. “It’s a team that leads the ACC in steals, turnovers. Their length in the passing lanes can bother you if you’re not moving on the offensive end.”

After that, Davis wants to see his team control the paint on the defensive side. If they can win on the glass and keep Florida State away from the rim, they’ll feel good about their chances of extending their lead in the conference.

“Defensively? We’ve just got to rebound the basketball. They’re going to go to the offensive glass, they’re going to try to attack the basket. They do a terrific job of getting to the free-throw line. I think they’re second in free-throw attempts behind us,” Davis said. “We’ve got to be locked in defensively, finish the defense without fouling, and boxing out to get the rebound.”

These points are a lot of what worked for North Carolina back at the start of December. They won 78-70 over the Seminoles in their first conference game after playing in the Battle 4 Atlantis and the ACC/SEC Challenge.

On offense, the Tar Heels, who scored 49 alone in the second half, made 24 baskets with 13 coming off of assists. G RJ Davis was great again in that one with 27 points (8-17 FG), tied for third-most with two other games from his senior season in Chapel Hill.

Then, on defense, UNC outrebounded Florida State by nine. However, while they still scored 34 points in the paint, FSU had a hot night from deep as they made a dozen threes at 42.9%, tied for their most makes and tied for their third-best percentage of the year.

North Carolina has already executed a winning game plan once against Florida State this season. Now, ahead of the rematch, Davis has laid out what they’ll need to do to make it 2-0 against the ‘Noles.