Game Blog: Noles going to the finals

Tyler Hansbrough gets hacked taking the ball to the hoop in the UNC Tar Heels vs. Florida State ACC semi finals game Saturday, March 14, 2009 in Atlantaճ Georgia Dome. Photo by Todd Melet

By Ryan Craig & Mike Maniscalco
Mar 14, 2009

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3:45pm FINAL Florida State 73 North Carolina 70

UNC misses two three late to tie it...Tyler Hansbrough ends his ACC tournament career with a turnover, but he was dominant with 22 points and 10 boards. With a chance to put the Heels in the lead he fumbled the ball away. But in no way should that sour a fantastic ACC Semi-Final. Toney Douglas finishes with 27 for the Seminoles and sends his team to it's first ever ACC Championship game. Wayne Ellington was phenominal for the Heels. This is what the ACC tournament is all about...

3:44pm FSU 73 UNC 708seconds left

Hansbrough Turnover Douglas Free throws...

3:40pm UNC 70 FSU 69 58.2 left

Bobby Frasor makes 1 free throw to give the Heels the edge. FSU with possession has called a time out. It is cliche, but this game is coming down to the last shot. First time I thought how much Ty Lawson means to UNC all day.

3:37pm 69-69 Tie game

UNC forces a Douglas turnover and Danny Green has two free throws to tie it.

3:34pm FSU 69 UNC 67 2:14 left to play

FSU is 6 of 11 behind the line in the second half. Xavier Gibson just knocks down a big three in the right corner. Wayne Ellington continues to be a force for the Heels answering right back

3:32pm FSU 66 UNC 65 under 4 timeout

Hansbrough is playing with four fouls but Wayne Ellington continues to be on fire knocking down a big three...

3:22pm Noles Chris Singleton has hit a two or a three will let you know in a minute..it was 2--66-62 FSU

3:21pm FSU 64 UNC 60 under 5:20 to play

The Noles have committed 10 team fouls...UNC shoots two from here on out.

3:16pm FSU 60 UNC 58 7:46 to play in the game

Ellington and Hansbrough have been fantastic today and Deon Thompson has been strong to the rim UNC is wearing FSU's interior defense out, on the other side the Noles stay hot from the outside, which side flinches first? Settle in this is going to be a fantastic finish.

3:11pm FSU 60 UNC 55 9 minutes left

Kitchen makes it 5 for 6...and a 5 point run.

3:09pm: FSU 55 UNC 55 10:15 to go

Noles are 4 for 5 behind the line in the second half. The Heels have the answer in Hansbrough, he has 14 points in half and we have a ball game!

3:05pm: FSU 51 UNC 48 with 11:38 in the second half

Ellington and Hansbrough have combined for 31 of the Tar Heels 48 points and have been able to get space against the Noles. Florida still has answers LD II is now in guarding Toney Douglas who already has 21 points.

3:02pm: FSU 51 UNC 46

Playing with a bank of lights out, and it hasn't bothered the Noles who have come out of the timeout with two threes.

2:57pm

We literally have lights out which has lead to the stoppage in play. No tornadoes were forecast so I think we are fine.

2:53pm

Green is 1-9 for the Heels today...but Hansbrough is starting to assert himself..with the last two made UNC buckets and a nice assist to Ed Davis for a slam. FSU 45 UNC 44.

2:47pm

But luckily Hansbrough is fine, only a 10 second delay. Roy might want to take Bobby Frasor off Toney Douglas has 7 points with 16:50 left in the half. Noles on an 11-6 run to open. 40-38

2:44pm

A douglas 3 followed by a pair of Hansbrough free throws and we are square at 32. Hansbrough has been quiet since the first the ten minutes of the first half.

2:42pm

FSU opens up with the ball and a made basket by Kitchen here we go. 19:30 left 32-31 UNC.

2:32pm

UNC's defensive effort was fantastic. But the Noles have played tough as both teams . This game has an NCAA tournament feel. he final 20 minutes should be the better than the first.

2:23pm

Toney Douglas draws a foul on Bobby Frasor and hits the three pointer. The Heels lead 32-27 before that, Douglas with a four point play opportunity that rims out. Rebound controlled by the Noles and Derwin Kitchen goes to the tin and finishes. Danny Green with a half-court heave just misses and a good first half comes to an end with UNC leading 32-29.

2:19pm

Get used to hearing that. Ellington has 13 points, this is just like he is playing Clemson. Timeout FSU to cool off #22.

2:17pm

At the under 4 timeout the Heels lead 23-21. Deon Thompson and Wayne Ellington are filling it up for UNC. Toney Douglas still trying to get on track for the Noles.

2:10pm

The Noles have gone on a mini run out of the break. Spreading the floor and hitting a few outside shots has opened up the paint for Alabi. Ryan Reid with a nice bucket following an offensive rebound. By the time I post this it is a 9-3 run with two Toney Douglas free throws and we are tied at 21.

2:05pm

Under 8 deadball timeout...Wayne Ellington hits a big three and puts UNC up 18-12. FSU answers out of the break with a Dulkys three to make it 18-15. UNC still playing excellent defense challenging every shot.

2:03pm

Solomon Alabi with a little contact and nice touch breaks a 6 plus minute scoring drought for the Noles 14-10 Heels. Both teams are shooting 25% from the field.

1:58pm

At the deadball timeout with 10:52 left Deon Thompson sends it in. UNC is playing the best defense I have seen out of this team all year. FSU has nothing easy inside or outside the last 5 minutes.

1:55pm

Ed Davis tried to bring the roof down, but the rim got in the way. Both teams are playing solid defense and cleaning the boards.

1:51pm

Ed Davis rocks the rim and the Heels have gone on a 7-0 run over the last 3 minutes. The crowd is very pro UNC and finally has something to cheer about. Early on both teams are playing at a ferocious pace.

1:45pm

The traffic in Atlanta is terrible, the start of the game was red hot for the Noles First dead ball time out FSU up 8-5 but Tyler Hansbrough is forcing calls inside. FSU has 4 team fouls to 0 for UNC.

Update 1:09pm - Lot of Carolina blue in the crowd:

As usual, the Heels fans have traveled well. Of the people that have already arrived and sat in their seats, I'm guessing that 85% or more are wearing Tar Heels apparel.

If you're Florida State, you basically have to treat this as a road game. A quick start will be important for the 'Noles - that will allow them to dictate the pace of the game and keep the crowd out of it.

12:45pm

We're about an hour away from the tip of the North Carolina vs. Florida State game, and we've just received word that Ty Lawson will not play in the Heels' game against the Seminoles. Lawson sat out yesterday's contest with Virginia Tech and hasn't practiced since the team's win against Duke last Sunday.

Lawson was an important factor in the first and only time these two teams played this year, as it was the 2009 ACC Player of the Year that won it for Roy Williams' team on a buzzer-beating running three-pointer.

Bobby Frasor will presumably get the start again, as he did in yesterday's game against the Hokies, and Larry Drew II will once again be called upon to give the Heels heavy minutes.

To be honest, it's hard to sit the most important player on your team during a postseason tournament, but it's the smart play for Carolina. As much as you want to win the ACC Tournament, the NCAAs are much more important, and if the Heels are to have a chance to cut the nets down in Detroit, they need Lawson to be as close to 100% as possible.

Most Recent Comments

RE: Game Blog: Noles going to the finals

No the weather stinks here as well. I hope that it will clear up so I can go. ESPN wants to black everything out anyway so I guess I will listen to it on the radio somewhere like I did today.

RE: Game Blog: Noles going to the finals

The weather must be better in Blackwater. Here all we got is water, and cold. Good luck on the fishing. I guess I will just hang around and see who wins this. I'm hopping Maryland can win today, and maybe tomorrow. It will give us another team in the tourn.

RE: Game Blog: Psycho T(urnover)

Well can't say I was surprised. I was worried that FSU would be too quick without Lawson in there to split the defense. We needed him today. Great game by FSU. Heels did keep it close. We will be ok with Lawson back. Hope all the ABCer's are happy. You finally got what you wanted today. I guess I will be pulling for Duke tommorrow if they win. If it is FSU vs Maryland then I could care less. I am going fishing. ESPN can suck wind and die. Thanks for blacking out the game you ****heads.

RE: Game Blog: Noles going to the finals

ahting is ratings hitting rock bottom.

RE: Game Blog: Noles going to the finals

That was a great game. We just couldn't pull it off...no big deal. I'm more concerned about the NCAA championship. Wayne definitely stepped up to the plate today!...not sure what was going on with Green. Douglas is definitely an awesome player for FSU!

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