ACC Basketball Tournament: UNC vs. Syracuse game info, preview, prediction and more

The UNC Basketball team takes on Syracuse in the second-round of the 2020 ACC Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night

The North Carolina Tar Heels got through the first day of the 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament Tuesday with a blowout win over Virginia Tech. But the tests get tougher as the tournament goes on.

Next up for the Tar Heels is Syracuse, the No. 6 seed in this tournament who will play for the first time on Wednesday. The two teams met a few weeks back in New York with UNC beating Syracuse 92-79 as they took over in the second half of that game.

The Tar Heels aren’t your ordinary No. 14 seed in this tournament. They have won four out of their last five games and are finally healthy. While it’s still a long shot that UNC gets to the NCAA Tournament, they aren’t going to go down without a fight.

Syracuse poses a different style of play than Virginia Tech with their zone defense, something the Tar Heels not only saw earlier this season but broke down well. Garrison Brooks proved to be a zone buster for the Cuse and finished the game with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Brooks was dominant in the game and shot 9 of 14 from the field including 8 for 8 from the free throw line.

With point guard Cole Anthony slashing through the defense and attracting a crowd, it allowed Brooks to feast in the paint. Anthony finished with 25 points and Christian Keeling added 17 in the win.

The Tar Heels shot the ball very well overall making 51 percent of their attempts. That included making 11 of their 26 three-point attempts.

We saw UNC turn things around in the second half of Tuesday’s victory after shooting just 29 percent from the field in the first half vs. the Hokies. But in order to beat Syracuse on Wednesday night, UNC will need to continue their hot shooting.

They will also need to slow down the attack of ‘Cuse led by Eljah Hughes and Buddy Boeheim.

The duo have been fantastic all season long for the Orange including scoring in double-digits against the Tar Heels. But they are going to need some help from the other cast of players on their roster.

What to watch for

Shooting. The Tar Heels are going to need another good shooting night to advance to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. UNC shot 46 percent from the field in the win over Virginia Tech, overcoming a slow start in the first half.

While holding a six-point lead at the break, the Tar Heels came out red hot in the second half shooting the ball. They jumped all over the Hokies on offense, building a double-digit lead and never looked back. The hot shooting helped UNC cruise in this one and they will need it again on Wednesday night. With that zone defense, the Tar Heels will have some open looks from the floor.

They just need to knock them down.

Player to Watch

Garrison Brooks. He was a monster in the first meeting between the two teams back in February and has the chance to have another big game again on Wednesday. Brooks finished with 20 points on 6 of 11 shooting Tuesday night and made 8 of his 10 free throw attempts.

Let’s see if UNC goes back to Brooks early and uses him in a similar role as they did in the first matchup. He got a lot of great open looks and killed that ‘Cuse zone.

What you need to know

What? North Carolina 14-18 (6-14 in ACC) vs. Syracuse 17-14 (10-10 in ACC)
When? Wednesday, March 11 at 9:30 p.m. ET
Where? Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina
TV? ESPN2
Radio? Tar Heel Sports Network
All-time series? UNC leads 13-4.
Last meeting? UNC beat Syracuse 92-79 on Feb. 29, 2020
Line? N/A
Prediction? UNC 85, Syracuse 82