State’s Barber, UNC’s Johnson named ACC basketball players of the week

NC State guard Cat Barber and North Carolina forward Brice Johnson have been selected as the Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Co-Players of the Week, while Florida State’s Dwayne Bacon was recognized as the ACC Rookie of the Week.

ACC basketball weekly honors are determined by a vote of a select media panel.

NC State’s Barber totaled 59 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as the Wolfpack won a pair of games. The 6-foot-2 junior from Newport News, Virginia, scored 26 points and hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift NC State past High Point on Wednesday night. He added six assists and no turnovers. On Saturday, Barber scored 33 points (19 in the first half) in a road win at Missouri. He was 13-for-15 at the foul line, 9-for-15 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds.

UNC’s Johnson combined for 52 points and 19 rebounds in UNC’s wins over Tulane and No. 22 UCLA (26.0 ppg and 9.5 rpg). Johnson went 22-for-29 from the floor and 8-for-11 from the foul line. The senior from Orangeburg, South Carolina, scored a career-high 25 points against Tulane, and then topped that with a new career high of 27 points in the win over UCLA. He was 11-for-12 from the floor against the Bruins, helping the Tar Heels overcome an 11-point deficit to win. He scored 11 of UNC’s last 13 points in the first half to send the game to the break tied. Johnson scored 14 second-half points to lead UNC to the 89-76 victory. Johnson made his last 11 field goal attempts and scored all 27 of his points in the game’s final 27 minutes.

Bacon averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in leading Florida State to a victory over Mississippi State and a come-from-behind win over FAU in the Orange Bowl Classic. He shot .593 from the field (16-for-27) and .733 (11-for-15) from the foul line for the Seminoles (8-2).  The Lakeland, Florida, freshman scored 20 points  against Mississippi State and 23 against FAU.  Bacon, whowas named the MVP of Orange Bowl Classic, enters Monday’s game against Charleston Southern averaging 16.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and shooting .520 from the field.  He has scored at least 20 points in five of the first 10 games of his career.