Syracuse is the perfect matchup for UNC to fix a major problem without Henri Veesaar

It’s rare for a seven-foot center to be the key to a team’s offensive spacing, but that’s the case with Henri Veesaar. North Carolina’s junior center is shooting 44.8 percent on 2.8 attempts from three per game, and with Veesaar sidelined due to the flu and a lower-body injury for the past two games, the Tar Heels have sorely missed their stretch-five. 

 In Tuesday night’s disastrous 82-58 loss to NC State without Veesaar and Caleb Wilson, the Tar Heels shot just 15.2 percent from three (5-33), their worst performance from beyond the arc all season. Not a lethal long-range threat, UNC is hitting at a 33.5 percent clip from deep this year, but with Veesaar off the floor, regardless of Wilson’s status, that’s dropped to a disastrously low 28.9 percent. 

Veesaar’s status for North Carolina’s Saturday trip to Syracuse is still in doubt, but whether he plays or not, the Orange are the perfect matchup to alleviate UNC’s shooting woes. 

Syracuse’s defensive struggles are just what North Carolina needs to get back on track

Syracuse is careening towards its fifth-straight year without a tournament appearance, and the only silver lining is that Adrian Autry is likely to be fired, prompting the first true coaching search for the program since Jim Boeheim was hired in 1976.

Among the long list of Syracuse’s problems this year is its three-point defense. The last time these two teams met, with Veesaar and Wilson both healthy, UNC shot 44.4 percent from deep in the 87-77 win (which wasn’t nearly as close as the final score would indicate). Since that meeting on February 2, Autry hasn’t found a solution for those defensive issues; they’ve even gotten worse. 

Over Syracuse’s last five games, which include two surprising wins over California and SMU, the Orange are allowing opponents to shoot 40.7 percent, way up from 33.5 percent for the season. In Duke’s 101-64 win over Syracuse on Monday, the Blue Devils shot 12-20 from beyond the arc (60 percent). 

If Veesaar returns, this issue will likely rectify itself, even with Seth Trimble yet to hit another three-pointer since his game-winner against Duke, and Wilson still out with his injured hand. If not, UNC needs a leaky three-point defense like Syracuse to get back on track because Zayden High, who has played over 30 minutes in each of the last two games with Veesaar out, is 1-10 from three this season and 1-18 lifetime. 

Hubert Davis is simply out of shooters, especially in the front court. And without Wilson, he’s missing his best isolation two-point scorer. NC State exposed UNC’s overwhelming lack of offense on Tuesday; Syracuse might just let the Heels off the hook this weekend.