No. 3 North Carolina holds off Florida State for 10th straight win

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — RJ Davis scored 24 points and freshman Elliot Cadeau scored a season-high 16 points to help No. 3 North Carolina rally from an eight-point deficit early in the second half and beat Florida State 75-68 on Saturday.

Davis shot 9 of 18 from the floor, although he made just 2 of 8 3-point shots, and surpassed the 20-point mark for the 12th time this season.

Cadeau shot 8 of 9 from the free-throw line and had six assists as North Carolina (17-3, 9-0 ACC) extended its win streak to 10 games.

Primo Spears scored 15 points on 6 of 15 shooting, drilling 3 of 4 3-pointers, for Florida State (12-8, 6-3).

Jamir Watkins had 10 first-half points as the Seminoles shot 16 of 32 from the floor, including 7 of 12 from 3-point range, to take a 41-36 halftime lead. But while the Seminoles quickly extended the lead to eight, 46-38, the Tar Heels within five minutes erased the deficit and jumped ahead 58-52 on Cadeau’s jumper with 14:03 to go.

UNC won the rebounding edge 42-32 and had 16 offensive boards that resulted in 14 second-chance points.

BIC PICTURE

North Carolina: The Tar Heels won their 750th regular-season ACC game. This is also the first time UNC has opened 9-0 in ACC play since 2001.

Florida State: The Seminoles held a 14-point lead at North Carolina in December before losing 78-70. Now they let an eight-point advantage slip away before an energized home crowd.

UP NEXT

North Carolina: Travels to Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

Florida State: Travels to Louisville on Saturday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball