Shortly before his Florida State men's basketball team boarded a flight Friday for its game today at North Carolina, Leonard Hamilton made it clear that he, his players and assistant coaches are "not delusional."

The Seminoles are well aware that they are substantial underdogs for the 2 p.m. ET game against the Tar Heels.

Not only does UNC (17-7 overall and 9-4 in the ACC) boast a much better record than FSU (13-10, 6-7), but the Tar Heels have won five of their last six games and are 12-1 at home.

Florida State, meanwhile, has lost three starters to injuries that required surgery and dropped five straight games for the first time since 2016

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If the Seminoles are going to stop that losing skid today, they'll have to play much better on both sides of the court, but particularly on offense.

In the two games since senior guard Anthony Polite and junior center Naheem McLeod went down with injuries, FSU has averaged just 55.5 points per game. Senior forward Malik Osborne was sidelined three games earlier.

The Seminoles have shot worse than 33 percent from the field in each of their last two losses. And they have connected on just 18 of 65 3-pointers (27.7 percent) in their last three games.

"We feel that a lot of it has to be more mental," Hamilton said of the Seminoles' recent shooting woes. "I think there are times where, because of where we are from an experience standpoint, our guys are not playing with the same level of confidence as some of our older players like Anthony and Malik would be doing."

FSU's play on the defensive end hasn't been stellar either.

Polite was one of the Seminoles' best perimeter defenders, and Osborne was their best all-around defensive player in the post. And today in Chapel Hill, N.C., they will face one of the ACC's most dynamic offenses.

North Carolina ranks second in the conference for 3-point shooting (38.4 percent), and junior forward Armando Bacot has been one of the conference's most dominant players.

Hamilton said the Tar Heels have the ability to put four exceptional 3-point shooters on the court at the same time, which forces opponents to extend their defense. And then Bacot goes to work inside. He averages 16.6 points and an ACC-best 12.2 rebounds.

"That's one of the reasons he's having the kind of year that he's having," the FSU head coach said.

North Carolina has had some ups and downs in its first season under new head coach Hubert Davis, but the Heels seem to be getting more and more comfortable. In their last three wins, they are averaging 89.7 points per game.

"Now you see them hitting a stride where they're playing their best basketball of the season," Hamilton said. "They're 12-1 at home, and they are really, really on a roll."

Today's game will be broadcast by ESPN at 2 p.m. ET.

North Carolina is favored by 10 points. It's the first time the Seminoles have been a double-digit underdog since a road trip to Duke on Dec. 30, 2017, when the Blue Devils were 11.5-point favorites.

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