No.6-seeded Syracuse (17-14, 10-10 Atlantic Coast) starts its ACC tournament gauntlet against North Carolina (14-18, 6-14) in the Greensboro Coliseum. SU would’ve played Pittsburgh had the Orange won their regular-season finale against Miami. The No. 14 Tar Heels toppled Virginia Tech in the first round on Tuesday night.

Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. The team that wins will face-off against No. 3 Louisville on March 12 at 9 p.m. 

All-time series: Syracuse trails, 13-4, and has lost the last nine matchups. 

Last time they played: In front of a star-studded crowd, Cole Anthony led UNC to a 92-79 win on Feb. 29 in the Carrier Dome. The potential top-NBA Draft pick scored 25 points on seven 3-pointers, five of which came in the second half. Garrison Brooks led all scorers with 26 points. Buddy Boeheim scored 22 points for SU and Bourama Sidibe posted a double-double (17 points, 15 rebounds). 

The Tar Heels report: Head coach Roy Williams called the 2019-20 Tar Heels “the least gifted team I’ve ever coached in the time that I’ve been back here,” on Jan. 7. Yet, North Carolina bounced back from a horrid start to win four of its last five. 

Since beating SU, UNC’s bested Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. It last lost at Cameron Indoor to rival Duke. Per KenPom, the Tar Heels rank 62nd in adjusted-offensive efficiency and 89th in the defensive counterpart. Anthony leads UNC in scoring (19.1 points per game) while shooting 35.6% from behind the arc. In his last two games, however, he’s shot 7-for-24 for 19 combined points. Brooks has recently spearheaded UNC’s offense, scoring 46 points in that same timeframe. 

North Carolina is still on-pace to miss its first NCAA Tournament since 2010 but has become a trendy-pick for a run in the conference tournament. 

How Syracuse beats North Carolina: SU needs to secure its 3-point defense first and foremost. It has allowed 40 3-pointers in its last three games, including a program-high 19 at Boston College on March 3. Anthony splintered the 2-3 zone with his passing and shooting in the first meeting between the sides and could do it again in Greensboro. Offensively, Syracuse needs to find its own 3-point success. It hasn’t converted more than eight deep balls since Jan. 11 against Virginia. The correlative offensive dip has sunk SU at times, and it’ll rely on recent-ACC first-team selection Elijah Hughes. The redshirt-junior banged his head against Sidibe’s knee against Miami on March 10 and was “blurry” according to head coach Jim Boeheim. Hughes is reportedly ready-to-go for Wednesday night’s matchup, Boeheim announced on Tuesday.  

Stat to know: 35.3 — North Carolina’s offensive-rebound percentage, which ranks 12th in the country. UNC totaled 13 offensive boards in the Dome earlier this season.

KenPom odds: Syracuse has a 54% chance to win the game, with a projected final score of 76-75. 

Player to watch: Brandon Robinson, guard, No. 4

The senior hit five 3s against the Hokies on Tuesday night and leads UNC in 3-point percentage (37.6%) and deep-makes (59). If SU’s defense starts to break down, look for Robinson to be a main benefactor. 

Published on March 11, 2020 at 12:33 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez