ACC Tournament 2012: Can Florida State Defeat North Carolina Again?

For the 16^th straight season, the ACC Tournament will feature either Duke or North Carolina in the finals.

On Saturday, the top-seeded Tar Heels defeated NC State 69-67 when point guard Kendall Marshall drove to the basket and hit an eight-foot jumper with 10.2 seconds left.

The last-second basket wasn’t without controversy, though.

As Marshall drove to the basket, Wolfpack guard Alex Johnson met him, initiating contact and as the ball went into the basket, Johnson crashed to the floor. While offensive fouls are generally judgment calls, NC State coach Mark Gottfried certainly felt Marshall should’ve been called for charging.

Marshall’s last drive was certainly a microcosm for what was a physical game.

Both teams' top scorers, C.J. Leslie for the 'Pack, and Tyler Zeller for the Tar Heels, fouled out. Leslie fouled out with just over eight minutes remaining in the game, picking up three fouls in under two minutes. Zeller fouled out with 68 seconds left.

Leslie’s three quick fouls drew the ire of Gottfried. While Gottfried was certainly upset about some of the calls, he was especially annoyed with his assistant coaches for not informing him that Leslie had four fouls.

NC State (22-12) certainly needed the win more than the Tar Heels. But, several things went against the Wolfpack late in the game, including miscommunication on the offensive end.

In their first year under Gottfried, the Wolfpack have seemingly done enough in the ACC Tournament to earn a ticket into the Big Dance.

Will their lack of a signature win hurt them in their pursuit of an at-large bid?

Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, the third-seeded Florida State Seminoles defeated second-seeded Duke, 62-59.

In a game where Florida State didn’t play particularly well on the offensive end, they continued to play their trademark stingy defense. Duke shot 37.3 percent from the field and only 25 percent from three-point range and turned the ball over 16 times.

Without a true inside scoring presence, the Blue Devils rely heavily on the outside shot and when it doesn’t fall consistently, they struggle on the offensive end.

The biggest question mark entering Sunday’s game is if ACC Defensive Player of the Year John Henson will play or not. Henson, who sprained his wrist early in Friday’s quarterfinal game against Maryland, missed Saturday’s game. The Tar Heels clearly missed him on the defensive end, as they couldn’t stop Leslie.

Florida State and North Carolina only met once in the regular season and it is a meeting that the Tar Heels would like to forget. On January 14^th, the Seminoles thumped the Tar Heels, 90-57 in Tallahassee.

It’s safe to say things will probably be much different on Sunday. That loss seemed to get the Tar Heels back on track rather quickly. With or without Henson, Carolina is a talented bunch.

By saying things will be different on Sunday isn’t a prediction, but rather a guarantee things will be much closer. Both teams enter the game with a lot of momentum and the Tar Heels have seemingly already wrapped up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Don’t be surprised if Marshall is the difference in the game Sunday. He is a great point guard who doesn’t turn the ball over. And as he proved on Saturday, he isn’t afraid to take the big shot.