Top-ranked North Carolina did not need one of its best efforts to advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament for the third straight year and the 41st time in school history. This was fortunate, since the Tar Heels did not entirely put their best feet forward in beat Florida State, 73-58.

The Heels made only 13 of 25 free throws, committed 19 turnovers compared to 14 assists, and made a number of plays their coach, Roy Williams, characterized as “silly,” from fouling on a 3-point shot to throwing an alley-oop rather than a simple pass on a four-on-two break. (Culprit reserve point guard Quentin Thomas, in case you didn't guess.)

Tyler Hansbrough, their premier player, was forced to perform wearing a transparent plastic mask to protect his injured nose, and endured a subpar 6-point, 5-rebound effort before fouling out.

“It bothered him like it would bother everybody,” Williams said of the mask. “The doctors really wanted him to do it, and I was able to convince him to do it today. I don’t know if I’ll be able to convince him to do it tomorrow.” Until this afternoon's quarterfinals, the sophomore had scored in double figures in every outing since the seventh game of the year, a win over Kentucky.

That the Heels will play another day was testament to 52.9 percent shooting, control of the boards, and a defense that thoroughly mangled Florida State’s attack.

Freshman forward Brandan Wright was a major factor in stifling All-ACC forward Al Thornton, who had 12 points, eight below his league-leading average, before fouling out with 6:48 remaining. Thornton, a senior, received an ovation as he exited. “He’s one of the best players I’ve seen in a long, long time,” Williams said.

Florida State’s offense -- in which a pass leading to a basket was not an assist but a rarity – repeatedly settled for jumpers and one-on-one moves. FSU had two assists on eight baskets in the first half, along with a dozen turnovers, and nine assists for the game while making 30.9 percent of its shots.

“They’re such a great team, they don’t need a whole lot of help from us,” said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton. His ninth-seed squad, 20-12, nevertheless did its part in likely sinking its own NCAA prospects.

Williams, who denigrated the importance of the ACC Tournament when he first returned to Chapel Hill in 2003-04, acknowledged that, “since we’re here I want to win this sucker. There’s no question in my mind that I’d like to win it. I’d like, (at) the world’s largest cocktail party, the Carolinablue people to have more bragging rights than anybody else.” In three tries to date as head coach, he has yet to take North Carolina to the finals.