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Thirty years ago, Carolina and Florida State played another important game.
The tussle tonight in Tallahassee is different for its own reasons. The Tar Heels have to win to keep from slipping off the NCAA bubble. The Seminoles are having an awful season but won at 13th-ranked Miami in their last game.
I remember the game in Tallahassee back in 1993, when UNC was ranked No. 3 and FSU No. 6. They were both heading for the Big Dance, but who would win the ACC was the first question. The Heels and ‘Noles were vying for first place, Carolina at 11-2 and FSU 11-3 after getting crushed at third-place Duke. UNC would have been in second place had it not rallied from 20-plus points down in the second half of FSU’s earlier visit to Chapel Hill, when in a first half with his team leading comfortably Sam Cassell labeled the Dean Dome crowd as “wine and cheese.”
So, the Seminoles and the rare capacity crowd were ready for a rumble on national TV and got one. The game was chippy and three technical fouls were handed out for rough words and play. Aptly, halftime was tied 33-33.
Carolina inched ahead in the second half, thanks to better 3-point shooting with Chapel Hill sixth-man Henrik Rödl draining both his long balls. Cassell was going for 2-for-5, but FSU star Bob Sura was in the midst of a dreadful 1-for-12 day, covered mostly by defensive ace Derrick Phelps.
Brian Reese was the most unsung of a lineup with George Lynch, Eric Montross, Donald Williams and Phelps. But the eventual 86-76 win was perhaps Reese’s finest college game with 25 points slashing through the ‘Noles defense. He was featured on the next week’s Sports Illustrated cover with his gleaming blue uniform right next to the big headline “Look Who’s No. 1!”
Carolina went on to complete a 9-game winning streak to finish first and also would have won the ACC Tournament had Phelps not been injured early in the championship game against Georgia Tech and left the court on a stretcher.
Smith knew his 1992-93 team had it up to here with Duke’s back-to-back NCAA crowns, but he wasn’t sure early in the season if it had the confidence and toughness to make it all the way. He said after the memorable rally against Florida State at the Smith Center he knew they had the confidence, and after the rematch in the Panhandle he knew they had the toughness.
Indeed, Smith’s team won the rugged East Regional by beating 12th-ranked Arkansas and No. 7 Cincinnati. In New Orleans, the Tar Heels took care of Roy Williams’ fifth Kansas team and defeated Michigan’s Fab 5 in the infamous Chris Weber time-out game for coach’s second championship.
Featured image via Sports Illustrated
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