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North Carolina’s defense is on a tear, and it showed again in a 79-66 win over Florida State to open ACC play.
The Seminoles shot just 23-for-66 from the field (34.8 percent). While Florida State hit 30 percent from 3-point range, the Tar Heels largely took away its preferred weapon by holding it to 12-for-40 from beyond the arc. North Carolina is now 10-0 this season when it holds opponents under 40 percent shooting.
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The Tar Heels may also be flirting with history. Florida State became the 14th straight opponent to fail to reach 75 points against UNC, the program’s longest such streak to open a season since 1981-82. That team went all 34 games without allowing 75 points and finished with a national championship.
It’s unlikely UNC will keep every opponent below that mark, but the trend underscores how dominant this group has been defensively. Opponents are averaging 63.5 points per game against North Carolina, the 14th-best figure in Division I. Paired with the Tar Heels’ 81.4 points per game on offense, that produces a 17.9-point scoring margin.
Foes are shooting just 36.1 percent from the floor, which ranks fourth nationally and second in the ACC behind Duke. According to KenPom, they are hitting only 40.6 percent on 2-point attempts, second nationally, and 28.2 percent from 3-point range, which ranks 21st.
After the win over Florida State, head coach Hubert Davis pointed to North Carolina’s length and its ability to switch across multiple positions as the backbone of those defensive numbers.
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“Defensively, we have the ability to switch, where they can guard guards out on the perimeter. Their length is real. I think somebody asked me a question earlier today in regards to our field goal percentage defense. And, I referenced that when I played, like the number one thing that I struggled the most is going up with guys with length. And we have length. Not just those two, but, you know, Jaren at the three, our positional length, Luka, Jonathan Powell — but those two specifically defensively and being able to get rebounds.”
North Carolina’s defense will have its first test of the ACC slate against SMU (11-2) on Saturday in Dallas. The Mustangs are averaging 91.1 points per game – 16th nationally and second in the ACC – and 16.5 fastbreak points per game – which leads the ACC.
Can the Tar Heels hold the Mustangs to under 75 points on their home court? We will see this weekend.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Tar Heels smother Florida State, defense on historic pace
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