UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Syracuse 72-68 Win

UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Squeezes Past a Pesky Syracuse Team for the Victory

by Derrick Clyburn

The North Carolina basketball team traveled to Syracuse for a late game in the former Carrier Dome to battle against the Orange. The Tar Heels knew they would have to play disciplined basketball against the stingy Syracuse zone defense. They were patient and moved the ball well using the high-low post offense to punish the Orange.

It was a back-and-forth game with both teams playing to their strengths. The Tar Heels tried to build a lead but Syracuse hit tough shots to keep the game close. Both teams shot 52% from the field and the Heels held a four-point lead to go into intermission.

In the second half, it was another back-and-forth game. It looked like North Carolina had some breathing room on a couple of occasions as they got the lead to 10, but the Orange continued to hit timely threes or made tough drives to the basket to keep it close led by Joseph Girard and Judah Mintz.

The game stayed close with 4 lead changes in the last 3 minutes of the game. A missed free throw by Pete Nance. A scramble for the rebound which was heading out of bounds and a save attempt by Joseph Girard, who passed it back under the Tar Heels basket to Pete Nance for the layup. That frenzy is what gave them the lead for good. North Carolina hit free throws to close out the game for the 72-68 victory.

UNC Game Stats

	1	2	T
North Carolina 15-6	38	34	72
Syracuse 13-8	34	34	68

North Carolina

STARTERS	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
P. Nance	21	4	3	6/17	1/2	8/10	1	40	3	1	2
A. Bacot	18	8	4	8/15	0/0	2/3	4	33	1	0	4
C. Love	15	1	5	4/7	3/5	4/6	2	31	0	0	2
R. Davis	9	5	5	4/9	1/4	0/2	3	34	2	0	1
L. Black	4	2	2	2/7	0/3	0/0	0	36	1	0	0
BENCH	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
T. Nickel	3	1	1	1/2	1/2	0/0	0	12	1	1	0
J. Washington	2	2	0	1/1	0/0	0/0	0	5	0	0	1
D. Dunn	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	1	5	0	1	0
S. Trimble	0	1	0	0/0	0/0	0/2	0	4	0	0	0

Syracuse

STARTERS	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
J. Girard III	18	4	5	7/13	4/9	0/0	1	37	0	0	6
J. Mintz	17	3	2	7/18	1/2	2/2	5	32	3	0	3
C. Bell	15	4	2	6/9	3/5	0/0	1	36	0	1	0
J. Edwards	8	7	0	4/7	0/0	0/0	5	33	0	5	4
B. Williams	4	2	0	2/5	0/2	0/1	3	20	0	1	0
BENCH	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
M. Hima	2	2	0	1/2	0/0	0/0	2	7	0	0	1
M. Brown	2	7	0	1/2	0/0	0/0	0	20	0	1	1
S. Torrence	2	2	3	1/1	0/0	0/0	0	13	0	0	0
J. Taylor	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	3	0	0	0

UNC Bright Spots

Pete Nance had 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Armando Bacot had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. 

Caleb Love had 15 points, 1 rebound, and 5 assists.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to run their opponent off the three-point line and make them take tough 2 point shots. They need to crash the boards more consistently. The players seem to be watching rather than going to the basket.

Final Observations 

The Tar Heels improve to 15-6 on the season and 7-3 in ACC play. They got their second ACC road win of the season. North Carolina was able to grind out a win against the tough Syracuse zone defense. They have won 10 out of their last 12 games. UNC is learning how to win in many different ways and they have done that without everyone playing their best at the same time.

Hubert needs to continue to use his bench to give the starters a break so that they don’t get worn down. It seems like they are still building chemistry and defining their roles. North Carolina has not played their best basketball yet. So, they have room to improve going into the second half of the ACC schedule. Next up is Pittsburgh Wednesday, February 1st.