Seemingly left for dead after yet another lackluster first half on Saturday at the Smith Center, the UNC men’s basketball team rode the back of freshman forward Walker Kessler to rally for a shocking 78-70 upset over No. 11 Florida State—a win that gave head coach Roy Williams 900 for his career. 

Having played in the shadows of UNC’s other big men—Garrison Brooks, Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe—all season long, Kessler’s late-season improvements were on full display Saturday. The 7-foot-1-inch Georgia native scored a career-high 20 points in a variety of different ways, while using his immense size at the rim to grab eight rebounds and block four shots.

His breakout performance couldn’t have come at a better time, with Brooks, Bacot and Sharpe combining to score only 13 points on nine field goal attempts.

Florida State (14-4, 10-3 ACC) had also won nine of its last 10 games coming into the day and led by as many as 16 points in the first half. UNC (15-8, 9-5 ACC) appeared to have no answers for the Seminoles, until Williams made the decision to turn Kessler loose.

Once he did, the whole landscape of the game shifted and the Hall-of-Famer became the fastest coach in NCAA history to reach the 900-win milestone. 

“Walker Kessler was the one big guy that I thought was positive in the first half,” Williams told reporters afterwards. “So, we started him in the second half and I thought he was sensational.” 

Prior to playing 24 minutes on Saturday, Kessler’s career high in minutes was just 14 in an early-season win over UNLV. He has scored in double figures four times this season, all of which have come over UNC’s last four games.

With eight of his 20 points coming in the first five minutes of the second half on Saturday, the Tar Heels roared back to take the lead essentially for good.

All in all, it was a heroic effort from a former McDonald’s All-American who missed time early in the year due to quarantine procedures and struggled to get up to speed with the rest of team. 

“Missing 14 days right before we start playing is tough,” Williams said. “And at that same time, his shot wasn’t going in as much as it used to. He started worrying about that. 

“But I love kids that worry,” the coach added. “They show you that they care. This is a kid that cares. You guys have got the stats, but his last four or five games he’s gotten a little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit better. He deserved the time.” 

Kessler wasn’t the only Tar Heel freshman to make an impact on Saturday, however, as the backcourt trio of Kerwin Walton, Caleb Love and R.J. Davis each scored in double figures as well. Walton had 13 points, while Love and Davis each ended with 12.

Early in the game, though, the young guards struggled with turnovers—which allowed Florida State to score 19 points in the first half on 14 UNC giveaways. After halftime, the Tar Heels buckled down defensively and forced 12 turnovers on the other end.

UNC has also struggled all year at the free throw line, but made 27 of its 30 attempts against Florida State—including all 14 in the second half.

That made all the difference in the upset win as the Tar Heels look to make a leap towards tournament time. 

“I would have thought last week’s game against Louisville would have been a springboard too, then the dadgum diving board broke [against Marquette] and everybody fell in the pond,” Williams said. “But I think the guys appreciate how hard they had to work on the defensive end of the floor in the second half. Going to the free throw line and making the free throws are things that they’re gonna remember as well. So, I’m hopeful.” 

Up Next:

The Tar Heels have a quick turnaround before their next game on Monday, a road tilt at Syracuse scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.

Game Notes:

  • UNC entered having lost its last 10 games against ranked opponents, the program’s longest such streak since losing 12 straight from 1949 to 1952.
  • The Tar Heels were ranked 322nd in the country with a free-throw percentage of just .650.
  • With a 12-point deficit at halftime, UNC matched its second-largest deficit at the break of the season. The Tar Heels trailed Marquette by 16 in a non-conference loss this past Wednesday.

 

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

 

Photo via Robert Willett (ACC Media)

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