By R.L. Bynum
No. 16 North Carolina (20–6, 8–5) at Syracuse (15–12, 6–8)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: JMA Wireless Dome
TV: ABC: Kevin Brown play-by-play, Jon Crispin analyst
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (affiliates list; streams on the Varsity Network app); Jones Angell play-by-play, Tyler Zeller analyst
Coaches: Adrian Autry (49–43 in third season, all at Syracuse), a Monroe, N.C., native, and Hubert Davis (121–51 overall and 64–29 in the ACC in fifth season, all at UNC; was 228–95 in nine seasons as a UNC assistant coach)
Series: UNC leads 19–7 (see list below), including 6–3 against the Orange at Syracuse.
Quad designation: Syracuse’s NET ranking is 72, making this a Quad 1 game for UNC.
Common opponents:
— UNC beat Kansas 87–54 at home on Nov. 7; Syracuse lost 71–60 in Las Vegas on Nov. 25.
— Both won at Georgia Tech: Syracuse 82–72 on Jan. 6 and UNC 91–75 on Saturday.
— Both won at home against Florida State: UNC 79–66 on Dec. 30 and Syracuse 94–86 on Jan. 13.
— Both won at home against Notre Dame: UNC 91–69 on Jan. 21 and Syracuse 86–72 on Saturday.
— Both played at Virginia; UNC won 85–80 on Jan. 24; Syracuse lost 72–59 on Feb. 7
— Both played California; UNC lost 84–78 on the road Jan. 17; Syracuse won 107–100 in 2 OTs on Feb. 11
— Both played SMU: UNC lost 97–83 on the road Jan. 3; Syracuse won at home 79–78 on Feb. 14
— Both played Duke: UNC won 71–68 at home, Syracuse lost 101–64 on Monday
Syracuse resume
— 72 NET ranking
— 1–7 in Quad 1 games: win at Tennessee; losses at N.C. State, at No. 16 North Carolina, at No. 14 Virginia, at No. 3 Duke and in Las Vegas against No. 6 Iowa State, No. 3 Houston and No. 8 Kansas
— 3–3 in Quad 2 games: wins at Pittsburgh and at home vs. California and SMU; home losses vs. Clemson, Miami and Virginia Tech
— 4–2 in Quad 3 games: home wins vs. Notre Dame, Florida State and St. Joseph’s; win at Georgia Tech; home loss to Hofstra; loss at Boston College
— 7–0 in Quad 4 games: home wins vs. Monmouth, Northeastern, Mercyhurst, Stonehill, Delaware State and Binghamton; neutral-site win over Drexel.
— 0–6 against teams currently ranked
Syracuse results (current rankings listed)
Oct. 25: 76–66 exhibition win vs. Buffalo
Oct. 29: 75–57 exhibition win vs. Pace
Nov. 3: 85–47 win vs. Binghamton
Nov. 8: 83–43 win vs. Delaware State
Nov. 15: 80–50 win vs. Drexel in Philadelphia
Nov. 18: 78–73 win vs. Monmouth
Nov. 24: 87–74 OT loss to No. 2 Houston in Las Vegas
Nov. 25: 71–69 loss to No. 8 Kansas in Las Vegas
Nov. 26: 95–64 loss to No. 6 Iowa State in Las Vegas
Dec. 2: 62–60 win vs. Tennessee
Dec. 11: 71–63 win vs. Saint Joseph’s
Dec. 13: 70–69 loss vs. Hofstra
Dec. 17: 76–62 win vs. Mercyhurst
Dec. 20: 91–83 win vs. Northeastern
Dec. 22: 77–48 win vs. Stonehill
Dec. 31: 64–61 loss vs. Clemson
Jan. 6: 82–72 win at Georgia Tech
Jan. 10: 83–72 win at Pittsburgh
Jan. 13: 94–86 win vs. Florida State
Jan. 17: 81–73 loss at Boston College
Jan. 21: 76–74 loss vs. Virginia Tech
Jan. 24: 85–76 loss vs. Miami
Jan. 27: 88–68 loss at N.C. State
Jan. 31: 86–72 win vs. Notre Dame
Feb. 2: 87–77 loss at No. 16 North Carolina
Feb. 7: 72–59 loss at No. 14 Virginia
Feb. 11: 107–100 2 OT win vs. California
Feb. 14: 79–78 win vs. SMU
Monday: 101–64 loss at No. 3 Duke
Usual Syracuse starters
No. 1 | F | Donnie Freeman (top photo) | 6–9, 205 | sophomore
— Team-leading 17.1 points, 48.8 FG%, 31.8 3P%, 75.0 FT%, 7.0 rebounds; totals of 27 assists, 42 turnovers, 17 blocks, 14 steals
— Has produced three big scoring games in January, scoring a career-high 27 points in the 82–72 win Jan. 6 at Georgia Tech (highlights below), 25 in the 94–86 home over Florida State (highlights below) and 24 in the 88–68 loss Jan. 27 at N.C. State.
No. 2 | G | J.J. Starling | 6–4, 206 | senior | Notre Dame transfer in third season at Syracuse
— 12.0 points, 43.7 FG%, 31.6 3P%, 54.2 FT%, 2.8 rebounds; totals of 59 assists, 33 turnovers, 6 blocks, 24 steals
— Scored a career-high 38 points Nov. 16, 2024, against Youngstown State and a season-high 21 points and three 3-pointers Jan. 31 against Notre Dame (highlights below).
No. 3 | G | Nate Kingz | 6–5, 190 | redshirt senior | Oregon State transfer
— 11.6 points, 47.9 FG%, 36.8 3P%, 60.7 FT%, 3.9 rebounds; totals of 34 assists, 21 turnovers, 16 blocks, 27 steals
— Played freshman season at Westmont, sophomore season at Southern Idaho and the previous two seasons at Oregon State (missing two seasons ago with a knee injury)
— Scored career-high 28 points with five 3-pointers Jan. 31 against Notre Dame (highlights below), one of eight career games with at least four 3-pointers; his career-high is six 3-pointers on Nov. 15, 2024, against Cal State Fullerton.
No. 11 | PG | Naithan George | 6–3, 185 | junior | Georgia Tech transfer
— 10.4 points, 42.5 FG%, 33.0 3P%, 81.6 FT%, 3.0 rebounds; totals of 147 assists, 85 turnovers, 8 blocks, 39 steals
— Scored career-high 28 points for Georgia Tech last season on Feb. 4, 2025, in a triple-OT win at Clemson.
— Season-high is 22 points in December games against Northeastern (highlights below) and Stonehill
— Has 14 games with at least three 3-pointers and two with five 3s.
No. 32 | F | William Kyle III | 6–9, 230 | senior | UCLA transfer
— 9.0 points, team-high 65.8 FG%, 0 3-point attempts, 48.0 FT%, team-high 7.5 rebounds; totals of 26 assists, 30 turnovers, 72 blocks, 29 steals
— Played freshman and sophomore seasons at South Dakota State, where he scored a career-high 26 points on Jan. 13, 2024, at Denver.
— Scored season-high 16 points on Nov. 3 against Binghamton
More on Tar Heels
— Davis gives updates on Wilson, Veesaar, as he ponders roster puzzle
—UNC guards faltering while Cadeau shines
— Five-star guard Mingo commits to Tar Heels
— Heels slide in NET rankings, but next two games are Quad 1
— Davis says short-handed Heels lacked ‘competitive fight’
UNC’s keys to the game
Shoot better from the perimeter — Carolina could come back from Syracuse with a loss if it doesn’t shoot better after only making a season-low 15.2% of its 3-point attempts in the blowout loss at N.C. State. Success there will also open up the inside more for driving lanes to create better shots.
Frontcourt production — Without Caleb Wilson and likely without Henri Veesaar, UNC can’t depend on traditional post scoring or the chemistry those two have. Zayden High and Jarin Stevenson must provide rim runs, screen-setting, offensive rebounding and vertical defense. Collective rebounding, especially from guards, is essential.
Push tempo and create early offense — UNC should look to score before Syracuse’s defense is fully set. Quick screens, transition rim runs, and aggressive drives can prevent long, grinding halfcourt possessions that favor the home team.
Win the turnover margin — Live-ball turnovers are magnified on the road. Strong decisions in traffic and controlled pace are critical, while selectively pressuring Syracuse’s guards can create extra possessions for UNC.
Defend without fouling — High got in foul trouble in the last two games with heavy minutes. With thinner depth up front, that would be costly. UNC must provide early help on drives and post touches, contest without reaching, and avoid bailout fouls late in the shot clock.
Syracuse ACC statistical ranks
| Rank | Statistic | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Blocks per game | 6.26 |
| 6th | Field-goal percentage | 47.1% |
| 10th | Field-goal percentage defense | 43.4% |
| 10th | Turnover margin | +1.26 |
| 11th | Scoring defense | 73.2 |
| 12th | Scoring | 76.0 |
| 13th | Defensive 3-point percentage | 33.5% |
| 13th | Scoring margin | +2.8 |
| 13th | Offensive rebounding | 10.6 |
| 14th | Assists/game | 13.15 |
| 14th | Rebounding | 34.8 |
| 14th | 3-point percentage | 33.4% |
| 16th | 3-pointers per game | 7.1 |
| 17th | Rebounding margin | -2.0 |
| Last | Free-throw percentage | 63.2% |
Notes
— Syracuse lost four rotation players to the transfer portal (Chris Bell to California, Elijah Moore to Utah, Chance Westry to UAB and Kyle Cuffe Jr. to Mercer) and brought in six players (William Kyle III from UCLA, Nate Kingz from Oregon State, Bryce Zephir from Montana State, Tyler Betsey from Cincinnati and two from Georgia Tech; Naithan George and Ibrahim Souare.)
— Freshman reserve Kiyan Anthony is the son of Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony.
— Both teams have gone 2–2 since Carolina’s 87–77 win over Syracuse in Chapel Hill on Feb. 2. The Orange got blown out on the road against Virginia on Feb. 7 (72–69) and Duke on Monday, 101–64. Both Syracuse wins came at home, on Feb. 11 against California 107–100 in double overtime and Feb. 14 against SMU 79–78.
— Syracuse is 12–4 this season at the JMA Wireless Dome and UNC is 3–5 in true road games, with wins at Kentucky, Virginia and Georgia Tech.
— In Carolina’s win over the Orange, the Tar Heels led by 32. But Syracuse outscored the Tar Heels 37–15 over the last 9:38, cutting its deficit to six with 42 seconds left. Caleb Wilson scored 22 points and Henri Veesaar had 17 points.
— Jarin Stevenson has scored in double figures in the last three games, his first three-game streak in his 100-game college career, going 16 of 24 from the floor with 45 points during that stretch.
— The disparity between UNC’s offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency was a season-worst -37.4 in Tuesday’s loss at N.C. State. The next-worst was -26.4 in the loss to Michigan State.
UNC season statistics
All games
ACC games
Syracuse season statistics
All games
ACC games
Statistical comparison
All games/ACC games
| Category | UNC | SU |
| NET ranking | 28 | 72 |
| Points per game | 80.9/80.4 | 76.0/77.4 |
| Scoring defense | 70.9/78.2 | 73.2/81.0 |
| Scoring margin | +10.0/+2.22 | +2.8/-3.6 |
| FG% | 47.0/46.5 | 47.1/47.4 |
| 3P FG % | 33.5/33.4 | 33.4/35.9 |
| 3P per game | 8.5/8.6 | 7.1/7.8 |
| FT% | 69.3/70.3 | 63.2/68.1 |
| FG% defense | 41.3/46.5 | 43.4/47.2 |
| 3FG% defense | 34.4/40.3 | 33.5/34.2 |
| Opponent 3P/game | 7.9/9.6 | 7.0/7.3 |
| Rebounds per game | 38.8/35.3 | 34.8/33.3 |
| Offensive rebounds/game | 11.3/10.5 | 10.6/9.7 |
| Rebounding margin | +4.5/+0.6 | -2.0/-3.1 |
| Assists per game | 16.5/15.8 | 13.1/13.3 |
| Turnovers per game | 9.4/8.7 | 11.2/11.7 |
| Assist-to-turnover ratio | 1.8/1.8 | 1.2/1.1 |
| Turnovers forced/game | 9.5/9.2 | 12.5/10.6 |
KenPom comparison
| Category | UNC | SU |
| Overall ranking | 32 | 73 |
| Offensive efficiency | 122.0 (30) | 116.0 (78) |
| Defensive efficiency | 101.5 (46) | 104.7 (82) |
| Possession length | 16.6 (74) | 17.0 (113) |
| Effective FG% | 54.1 (67) | 53.2 (96) |
| Turnover % | 13.6 (12) | 16.1 (131) |
| Offensive rebound % | 32.5 (118) | 30.0 (203) |
| FTA/FGA | 38.2 (103) | 37.0 (138) |
| 3FGA/FGA | 42.4 (127) | 36.4 (243) |
| Assist/FG% | 58.6 (47) | 47.2 (302) |
| Strength of schedule | 56 | 67 |
Series: UNC 19, Syracuse 7
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Duke | 13–1 | 24–2 | 2 |
| No. 14 Virginia | 11–2 | 23–3 | 16 |
| Miami | 10–3 | 21–5 | 37 |
| Clemson | 10–4 | 20–7 | 33 |
| N.C. State | 10–4 | 19–8 | 26 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 8–5 | 20–6 | 28 |
| No. 21 Louisville | 8–5 | 19–7 | 14 |
| SMU | 7–6 | 18–8 | 31 |
| California | 6–7 | 18–8 | 62 |
| Florida State | 6–7 | 13–13 | 85 |
| Virginia Tech | 6–8 | 17–10 | 56 |
| Syracuse | 6–8 | 15–12 | 72 |
| Stanford | 5–8 | 16–10 | 71 |
| Wake Forest | 5–8 | 14–12 | 58 |
| Notre Dame | 3–10 | 12–14 | 87 |
| Boston College | 2–11 | 9–17 | 156 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–11 | 9–17 | 124 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–12 | 11–16 | 171 |
* — Through Thursday games
Monday’s result
No. 3 Duke 101, Syracuse 64
Tuesday’s results
N.C. State 82, No. 16 North Carolina 58
Florida State 80, Boston College 72
SMU 95, No. 21 Louisville 85
Miami 67, Virginia Tech 66
Wednesday’s results
Wake Forest 86, Clemson 77
No. 14 Virginia 94, Georgia Tech 68
Saturday’s games
Florida State at Clemson, noon, The CW
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
No. 16 North Carolina at Syracuse, 1 p.m., ABC
Miami at No. 14 Virginia, 2 p.m., ESPN2
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at No. 21 Louisville, 2:15, The CW
Boston College at SMU, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 2 Michigan at No. 3 Duke, 6:30, ESPN
Monday’s game
No. 21 Louisville at No. 11 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
No. 3 Duke at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ESPN
N.C. State at No. 14 Virginia, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at Boston College, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Miami at Florida State, 9 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 23 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 8 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 15 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 14 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 3 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 21 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via cuse.com
