UNC Basketball: Staff Picks @ Syracuse
By Mark DeMott
The UNC basketball team hits the road to take on the Syracuse Orange on Tuesday night.
North Carolina defeated NC State in the Smith Center on Saturday afternoon to extend their winning streak to three games prior to Tuesday’s game at Syracuse. The Tar Heels will be looking to pick up their second straight road win against an Orange team that they are currently tied with in the ACC standings. With Carolina off this weekend, this will be the final game of January and mark the halfway point of the conference schedule. Will the Tar Heels be able to keep it rolling and pick up a key win against Jim Boeheim and company? Find out what our staff thinks below!
Nick Delahanty
Make no mistake: this is a good Syracuse team.
If you look at the numbers, they are very similar to the Tar Heels. The major difference between the two teams is three-point shooting, as the Orange shoot five percent better from beyond the arc.
This could be an issue, as we’ve seen first-hand how North Carolina has struggled against teams who can shoot from deep.
I expect Leaky Black to be tasked with slowing down Joseph Girard, who has really taken over as the leader of the offense nicely. This one will come down to two things:
- Can the Tar Heels stick to their strengths and produce offensively
- Will North Carolina’s defense put together a strong performance to help slow down Syracuse offensively
I’m not expecting this one to be pretty by any means, but I think North Carolina will do enough to win this high-scoring affair.
Prediction: North Carolina 89, Syracuse 86
Mark DeMott
Outside of their struggles away from home this season, I like this matchup for the Tar Heels.
Syracuse’s leading scorer, Joe Girard, will likely be guarded by Leaky Black. If Leaky is sound defensively, I think that his length and athleticism could make it very difficult on Girard. Their second-leading scorer, Judah Mintz, is a very talented freshman, but he shoots under 20% from behind the arc. Their only other double-figure scorer is Jesse Edwards who is a big man that is prone to foul trouble and gets a lot of his points on offensive rebounds/putbacks.
On the offensive end, Pete Nance appears to be a great candidate to put in the middle of the 2-3 zone due to his ability to handle the ball, pass, and shoot out of the high post. When playing Syracuse, it is critical to take care of the ball and find, take, and make open shots. The perimeter shooting of RJ Davis, Caleb Love, D’Marco Dunn, Puff Johnson (if available), and potentially Tyler Nickel will have a key role in this game.
Down low, it will be important for Armando Bacot to stay out of foul trouble and be a beast on the boards against the Orange, who can sometimes struggle on the glass.
As Coach Roy Williams always said, things look a lot better when the ball goes in the basket. If Carolina makes their fair share of open looks they should be able to leave upstate New York with a W.
Prediction: North Carolina 85, Syracuse 70
Aaron Conrad
The Tar Heels hit the road to take on a Syracuse team that is bunched up in the same group in the ACC.
The good thing is you always know what you are going to get when you face The Orange. You’re going to see a zone the entire game. They will have length in the middle and shooters on the wings. Coach Jim Boeheim just keeps adding new pieces to replace the other ones.
For two years this Tar Heel team has been so hard to predict. I do believe they are putting things together.
The question is can they hit enough outside shots to extend the zone and give Bacot room to work? Big-to-big passing between Nance and Bacot will be critical as well. I assume Nance will hold down the area around the free-throw line and Bacot will rotate between the low blocks.
Caleb Love’s outside shooting will be massive in this one. Maybe some Tyler Nickel as well?
Prediction: North Carolina 84, Syracuse 72
Spencer Schultz
Slowing down Joe Girard will be crucial in this one, as he’s averaging 17.5 points per game on the year. The matchup of Armando Bacot and Jesse Edwards will be another one to watch on the road.
Syracuse is less of a defensive team than in past years, so UNC shouldn’t have too much trouble scoring in this one.
Prediction: North Carolina 76, Syracuse 73
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