Florida State men’s basketball returns to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they travel to face No. 16/17 North Carolina at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. The game between the Seminoles and Tar Heels will be shown on the ACC Network with Wes Durham, Cory Alexander, and Jim Boeheim on the crew calling the game. It can be streamed here. The game can also be heard on the Learfield IMG College Radio Network, with Eric Luallen and Jacob Ridenhour on the call. Audio can be heard here.
It marks the first Atlantic Coast Conference game for both teams. It marks the start of FSU’s 33rd season in the ACC. FSU is 13-19 in ACC openers all-time.
FSU enters the game with a 4-2 overall record. The Seminoles are coming off a 68-66 loss to Georgia in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
The Tar Heels are 6-1 on the season. They are coming off a 100-92 victory over Tennessee in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Their lone loss came in overtime to Villanova in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
UNC has a 53-16 advantage in the series. They have won the last two meetings, as well as the last seven meetings in Chapel Hill.
POSSIBLE STARTING LINEUP FOR FLORIDA STATE
F #2 Jamir Watkins (13.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg; First career game against North Carolina)
F #5 De’Ante Green (7.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg; 5 pts and 2 rebs against North Carolina, February 27, 2023)
F #11 Baba Miller (6.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg; 6 pts and 3 rebs against North Carolina, February 27, 2023)
G #1 Jalen Warley (6.7 ppg, 3.0 apg; 9 pts and 4 rebs against North Carolina, February 27, 2023)
G #22 Darin Green Jr. (14.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg; 5 pts and 2 rebs against North Carolina, February 27, 2023)
TOP RESERVES
F #21 Cam’Ron Fletcher (7.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg; 16 pts and 10 rebs against North Carolina, February 12, 2022)
C #33 Jaylan Gainey (Grabbed two rebounds in 3.3 minutes against Georgia; Marked his debut as a Seminole)
C #3 Cam Corhen (7.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg; 5 pts and 4 rebs against North Carolina, Feb. 27, 2023)*
G #0 Chandler Jackson (5.0 ppg, 1.7 apg; 3 pts and 0 rebs against North Carolina, February 27, 2023)
G #20 Josh Nickelberry (4.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg; First career game against North Carolina)
F #10 Taylor Bol Bowen (2.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg; First career game against North Carolina)
G #12 Tom House (3.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg; First carer game against North Carolina)
* dealing with a toe injury, played limited minutes against Georgia
POSSIBLE STARTING LINEUP FOR NORTH CAROLINA
F #3 Cormac Ryan (11.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg; 6 pts and 6 rebs against Florida State, January 17, 2023 at ND)
C #5 Armando Bacot (16.7 ppg, 11.6 rpg; 17 pts and 14 rebs against Florida State, February 12, 2022)
G #4 RJ Davis (19.4 ppg, 2.6 apg; 19 pts and 4 asts against Florida State, February 27, 2023)
G #24 Jae’Lyn Withers (4.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg; 14 pts and 9 rebs against Florida State, January 18, 2021 at Louisville)
G #55 Harrison Ingram (15.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg; 10 pts and 6 rebs against Florida State, Nov. 25, 2022, at Stanford)
Florida State lists six members — Head Coach Leonard Hamilton (Gastonia, N.C), graduate student Jaylan Gainey (Greensboro, N.C.), sophomore forward De’Ante Green (Asheville, N.C.), senior Darin Green Jr. (Charlotte, N.C.), graduate student Josh Nickelberry (Fayetteville, N.C.) and redshirt junior Isaac Spainhour (King, N.C.) – as being from the basketball-rich state of North Carolina. The Seminoles have more coaches and players from the state of North Carolina than the Tar Heels.
OFFICIALS: Referee is Roger Ayers and the umpires are Tony Handerson and Justin Porterfield
UP NEXT: Following the Seminoles’ game at North Carolina, they travel to play USF in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., on December 9, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.