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UNC's Lawson seeks payback against Florida State

Mar 4, 2008 - 11:20 AM Florida St (17-12) at No. 1 North Carolina (27-2) 8:00 pm EST

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (Ticker) -- For Ty Lawson, little has changed in his absence. His team is still winning and he likely is carrying a grudge against Florida State.

Lawson will appear in his second game after recovering from an ankle injury when the top-ranked Tar Heels host the Seminoles in their home finale on Tuesday in Atlantic Coast Conference action.

North Carolina (27-2, 12-2 ACC), which is tied with Duke (12-2) atop the conference standings, reclaimed the top spot in the rankings this week after Memphis and Tennessee each lost over the past two weeks.

As the Tar Heels look ahead to their regular-season finale at Duke on Saturday, Lawson will want to erase the bitter taste left from the last time he took the floor against Florida State. The sophomore sprained his left ankle just four minutes into North Carolina's 84-73 overtime win on February 3 against the Seminoles.

The injury caused the sophomore guard to miss six games, a stretch in which the Tar Heel went 5-1. Lawson made his return off the bench with four points in 21 minutes in Saturday's 90-80 win over Boston College, helping North Carolina overcome an early 18-point deficit.

Tyler Hansbrough had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels, who have won six straight and nine of their last 10 games.

Hansbrough finished with 22 points and a career-high 21 rebounds in his last game against Florida State (17-12, 6-8), which has won three consecutive contests, including Wednesday's 72-62 victory at North Carolina State. Senior guard Jason Rich scored 21 points while junior guard Toney Douglas poured in 20.

The Seminoles will be chasing their first four-game conference winning streak since 1992-93.