By R.L. Bynum
Carolina’s defense, a cornerstone of a 10-game win streak earlier this season, continues to regress in recent games, and the No. 7 Tar Heels paid for it at Syracuse. The Orange cashed in with red-hot shooting.
After surviving poor late-game execution at Miami, UNC couldn’t overcome committing four turnovers in the last 2:02, as host Syracuse shot 62.5% on its way to an 86–77 upset on Tuesday at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Carolina (19–6, 11–3 ACC) lost three times in its first 20 games but have equaled that in the last five.
“Tonight, we just weren’t able to guard them one-on-one,” UNC coach Hubert Davis told the Tar Heel Sports Network. “They’re running middle ball screens and they were going one on one against us and they were able to score. In the first half, it felt like we were forcing them into contested twos, but they were hitting them.”
UNC thought it was done dealing with Syracuse’s zone with Coach Jim Boeheim’s retirement, but the Orange’s zone kept the Tar Heels from finding much of a rhythm. Ten of UNC’s 11 turnovers resulted from steals.
UNC came into the game leading the ACC in free-throw attempts (18.3 per game) but attempted a season-low 11 (the previous low was 12 in the win at Clemson).
Despite a size advantage, Carolina and Syracuse both scored 32 inside points.
RJ Davis scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to lead four UNC players in double figures, with Armando Bacot (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Harrison Ingram (14 points, 11 rebounds) both putting up double-doubles.
Cormac Ryan played all 40 minutes and scored 18 points and four 3-pointers, his best scoring game since hitting 20 against Kentucky on Dec. 16, but two of his five turnovers came in the last 2:02.
Elliot Cadeau only scored four points and one 3-pointer. But he dished out seven assists with only one turnover, his best assist-to-turnover ratio since collecting 10 assists in a turnover-free game in the 100–92 win over Tennessee on Nov. 29.
“That stretch where we won 10 games in a row, I felt like our defense was tight,” Coach Davis said. “Not that it’s not tight now; it just needs to be tighter. Just the little details of being in the right position, talking on defense, boxing out, defending without fouling.”
It was UNC’s worst defensive performance of the season, giving up a season-high 1.410 points per possession to Syracuse (19–6, 11–3) to top the 1.103 that Tennessee scored. It was the best shooting by a UNC opponent since Pittsburgh shot 64.5% on Feb. 14, 2015, in an 89–76 Tar Heels loss. That was also the last time an opponent shot at least 60% in both halves.
“We’ve talked about us identifying what allows us to have success, and that’s defense and rebounding and taking care of the basketball,” Coach Davis said. “In large part, we took care of the basketball — maybe down the stretch, we didn’t. But in our defense — we just didn’t play well enough, obviously, to win the game.”
Syracuse, which lost at UNC by 36 points, made circus shots in the first half, and J.J. Starling banked in a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer in the second half. Judah Mintz (25 points, five rebounds, four assists) and Starling (23 points, three 3-pointers) repeatedly beat UNC one-on-one, dooming UNC.
Carolina tried doubling Mintz off ball screens in the second half, but that only slowed him down.
“We switched things defensively in the second half a number of times just to give him a different look,” Coach Davis said. “We were able to get back into the game and take a one-point lead, and that’s when Starling — up against the shot clock — hits a banked 30-footer. We just couldn’t catch back up.”
Seth Trimble returned after missing two games, scoring one point and pulling down two rebounds in 11 minutes.
Syracuse used a 13–6 run to take a 10-point lead on a Quadir Copeland drive eight minutes into the game. RJ Davis’ first points didn’t come until a 3-pointer during a 13–4 run to cut Syracuse’s lead to one on a Bacot layup with 5:18 left in the first half.
Consecutive Ingram 3-pointers gave UNC a 37–34 lead. But after a pair of Starling jumpers sent the game to halftime tied at 42, Syracuse started the second half with a 9–1 run.
Davis’ 3-pointer ended a UNC field-goal drought of more than seven minutes, and Cadeau added another 3 to cut the deficit to three. Three minutes later, Davis tied it at 58 with a three-point play, then had five points during a 7–2 run to give UNC a 65–64 lead at the under-eight-minute timeout.
Mintz scored six points in a 16–4 run to put Syracuse up eight with 58 seconds left. Ryan’s 3-pointer cut it to five with eight seconds later. After Mintz split a pair of free throws with 48 seconds left, Ingram’s follow shot nine seconds later cut UNC’s deficit to four.
Five Syracuse free throws in the last 38 seconds put the game away.
NOTES — Carolina plays four of its last six regular-season games at the Smith Center, starting with Saturday’s 2 p.m. game with Virginia Tech, a team that includes former UNC player Tyler Nickel. The Hokies (13–10, 5–7) hosted Florida State on Tuesday night. … UNC fell to 1–4 on Tuesdays (win at Pittsburgh on Jan. 2 and losses at New York against UConn on Dec. 5, at Georgia Tech on Jan. 30, vs. Clemson on Feb. 6 and Tuesday at Syracuse). … Carolina made 12 of 27 3-point attempts, only the second time in 16 gaes this season the Tar Heels lost when making more threes than the opponent (Villanova). … Bacot’s season-high fourth straight double-double was the 80th of his career, tying him for seventh in NCAA history with Drexel’s Malik Rose. … It was the first time UNC lost in 15 games this this season when four or more Tar Heels scored in double figures. … Syracuse shot 63% in the first half, the best shooting half by a UNC opponent this season. … The Tar Heels shot 47.5% from the floor, their highest percentage in a loss this season (previous was 47.4% vs. Kentucky). … UNC had 19 assists on 29 field goals. The 19 assists were a season high in a loss and equaled the second most in any game this season. … It was the Orange’s first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 1 Duke 95–91 on Jan. 14, 2019. … UNC, which won the Jan. 13 meeting with Syracuse 103–67, leads the series with the Orange 16–7, including 5–3 at Syracuse. … Carolina is 34–18 all-time in domed stadiums. … Three starters — Ryan, Ingram and Davis — played all 20 second-half minutes.
Syracuse 86, No. 7 UNC 79
UNC season statistics
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 4 North Carolina | 17–3 | 25–6 |
| No. 11 Duke | 15–5 | 24–7 |
| Virginia | 13–7 | 22–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 12–8 | 21–10 |
| Clemson | 11–9 | 21–10 |
| Syracuse | 11–9 | 20–11 |
| Wake Forest | 11–9 | 19–12 |
| Virginia Tech | 10–10 | 18–13 |
| Florida State | 10–10 | 16–15 |
| N.C. State | 9–11 | 17–13 |
| Boston College | 8–12 | 17–14 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–12 | 14–17 |
| Notre Dame | 7–13 | 12–19 |
| Miami | 6–14 | 15–16 |
| Louisville | 3–17 | 8–22 |
Saturday’s games
No. 4 North Carolina 84, No. 11 Duke 79
Virginia Tech 82, Notre Dame 76
Florida State 83, Miami 75
Boston College 67, Louisville 61
Wake Forest 81, Clemson 76
Pittsburgh 81, N.C. State 73
Virginia 72, Georgia Tech 57
ACC tournament
March 12–16, Capitol One Arena, Washington
| Date | Month/day | Score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 27 | Friday | W, 117–53 | vs. St. Augustine’s | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 6 | Monday | W, 86–70 | vs. Radford | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 90–68 | vs. Lehigh | 2–0 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 77–52 | vs. UC Riverside | 3–0 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas | ||||
| 22 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | Northern Iowa | 4–0 |
| 23 | Thursday | L, 83–81, OT | Villanova | 4–1 |
| 24 | Friday | W, 87–72 | Arkansas | 5–1 |
| ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | ||||
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 100–92 | vs. No. 6 Tennessee | 6–1 |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 78–70 | vs. Florida State | 7–1, 1–0 ACC |
| Jimmy V Classic in New York | ||||
| 5 | Tuesday | L, 87–67 | No. 1 Connecticut | 7–2 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 16 | Saturday | L, 87–83 | No. 12 Kentucky | 7–3 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 20 | Wednesday | W, 81–69 | Oklahoma | 8–3 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 105–60 | vs. Charleston Southern | 9–3 |
| January | ||||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 70–57 | at Pittsburgh | 10–3, 2–0 ACC |
| 6 | Saturday | W, 65–55 | at Clemson | 11–3, 3–0 ACC |
| 10 | Wednesday | W, 67–54 | at N.C. State | 12–3, 4–0 ACC |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 103–67 | vs. Syracuse | 13–3, 5–0 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 86–70 | vs. Louisville | 14–3, 6–0 ACC |
| 20 | Saturday | W, 76–66 | vs. Boston College | 15–3, 7–0 ACC |
| 22 | Monday | W, 85–64 | vs. Wake Forest | 16–3, 8–0 ACC |
| 27 | Saturday | W, 75–68 | at Florida State | 17–3, 9–0 ACC |
| 30 | Tuesday | L, 74–73 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 9–1 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | W, 93–84 | vs. No. 13 Duke | 18–4, 10–1 ACC |
| 6 | Tuesday | L, 80–76 | vs. Clemson | 18–5, 10–2 ACC |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 75–72 | at Miami | 19–5, 11–2 ACC |
| 13 | Tuesday | L, 86–79 | at Syracuse | 19–6, 11–3 ACC |
| 17 | Saturday | W, 96–81 | vs. Virginia Tech | 20–6, 12–3 ACC |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 54–44 | at Virginia | 21–6, 13–3 ACC |
| 26 | Monday | W, 75–71 | vs. Miami | 22–6, 14–3 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 79–70 | vs. N.C. State | 23–6, 15–3 ACC |
| 5 | Tuesday | W, 84–51 | vs. Notre Dame | 24–6, 16–3 ACC |
| 9 | Saturday | W, 84–79 | at No. 13 Duke | 25–6, 17–3 ACC |
| ACC tournament Washington | ||||
| 14 | Thursday | W, 92–67 | Quarterfinals: Florida State | 26–6 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 72–65 | Semifinals: Pittsburgh | 27–6 |
| 16 | Saturday | L, 84–76 | Final: N.C. State | 27–7 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 21 | Thursday | W, 90–62 | First round in Charlotte: Wagner | 28–7 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 85–69 | Second round in Charlotte: Michigan State | 29–7 |
| 28 | Thursday | L, 89–87 | Sweet 16 in Los Angeles: No. 19 Alabama | 29–8 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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