Eggers: UNC offers FSU basketball team another chance to make statement

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- As a fan, the best day at the ACC Tournament is a day you know your team can’t lose.

You get all the fun and cultural exposure of watching the other teams and fans sweat out games, and you know that no matter what, your team’s tournament won’t end that night. As a result of Duke’s positive COVID-19 test and the subsequent cessation of the Blue Devils’ season, FSU fans enjoyed that on Thursday.

So once the quarterfinal games tipped off, the Seminole faithful could enjoy not only the compelling and quality basketball on the court, but also a sense of superiority over the fanbases who did the adult professional versions of the walk of shame out of the Greensboro Coliseum.

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This is what happens when you come to the tournament. The teams compete on the court. The fans have a cold war-level status battle in the stands.

So it was that we gave appreciative, but low-key condescending nods to the Syracuse fans who suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the buzzer to top-seeded Virginia.

“Hey ... great shooting by Buddy Boeheim today. Good luck in the NIT.”

Then 'Nole fans got to hate watch Jose Alvarado’s Georgia Tech team struggle with Jim Larranaga’s Miami team, which looked surprisingly dangerous when most of their players can actually play and aren’t DNP-Adidas (allegedly).

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By the way, shout out to the one Miami fan I saw in the stands holding up the gaudy “U” poster from the upper deck. I love his dedication to cheering on a team that started playing on Tuesday and, for a minute, looked like they had a real chance to make it to the semifinals.

My disappointment for him is offset only by the knowledge that, since UNC won later Thursday night, he should still do brisk business in his normal job scalping tickets outside the arena on Friday.

Speaking of North Carolina: What happened to Virginia Tech last night is what FSU fans worried would happen to them if they had played Duke amidst a partisan crowd on a "neutral" court.

The Hokies have had a good, if COVID-disrupted, regular season, but their rust was too much to overcome against a legitimately hot Tar Heel squad. At times, it seemed like the Hokies were swallowed up by the Tobacco Road energy in Greensboro. They missed free throws and seemed to run out of gas in the second half, while Roy and the Rebounders only got stronger.

This is a legitimate thing for FSU fans to worry about. The crowd last night was at least 75 percent Carolina fans. And while the VT crew did their best, the haunting, ominous chants of “Tar … Heels” were difficult to ignore.

So even though No. 2 seed FSU will be facing a sixth-seeded UNC team that will be playing its third game in as many days, while FSU has been off since Saturday, this will be, in effect, a road game for the Seminoles. And we all know how well those have gone lately.

To be fair, having a hard time winning March games in the state of North Carolina isn’t something unique to this year’s team. It isn’t an accident, after all, that the first time FSU made the ACC Tournament finals (2009), and the first time the Seminoles won it (2012), the tournament was in Atlanta, not Charlotte or Greensboro.

But if FSU wins tonight, it won’t just be because the Seminoles blocked out the partisan crowd. They’re going to have to win it on the glass, and not commit as many turnovers as their recent road losses have featured.

Leonard Hamilton likes to say that the key to FSU’s success always has more to do with them than their opponent. And that’s really what tonight will be about.

Can the 'Noles regain the form that saw them beat UNC earlier this season without Scottie Barnes, and take a 16-point first-half lead against them in Chapel Hill?

Can RaiQuan Gray be the player that almost single-handedly closed out the first UNC game by making winning plays on both ends of the court?

Can M.J. Walker make outside shots that don’t originate from Tallahassee? And can he still find ways to contribute if not?

The good news, I think, is there shouldn’t be any motivation or focus issues for Florida State. Based on comments made by players, I think they have a sincere desire to put the Notre Dame loss behind them and remind everyone, including maybe themselves, how good they can be.

There’s also this: Leonard Hamilton grew up in Gastonia, N.C. They won’t be in the stands, but he’s got a crew watching this game.

The games don’t get any easier from here. But the wins do get more enjoyable. And the statements FSU can make about itself and its standing in the ACC and college basketball universe only get more meaningful.

The Duke game was canceled, but FSU still has a Blue Blood on deck; and the Seminoles have a chance to make their fourth ever ACC finals. Let’s see what they have to say.

In exchange for letting him make fun of rival fan bases publicly, Tallahassee resident and longtime FSU basketball fan Eric Eggers is providing Warchant with coverage of the 2021 ACC men's basketball tournament.

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