Syracuse men’s basketball is heading down the final stretch of its season. The Orange (15-14, 9-9 ACC) have just two regular season games remaining. In addition to regaining confidence following a 97-72 defeat against Duke on Saturday, SU will be focused on gaining some steam and resumé-building wins ahead of potential postseason play.
Against Duke over the weekend, Syracuse fell into a dreadful 31-9 hole during the game’s first 8:11 of gametime and never recovered. With North Carolina looming on Monday, SU has to assure it doesn’t get off to another slow start. The red-hot Tar Heels have won three straight games and five of their last six.
However, things weren’t always this way for first-year head coach Hubert Davis and UNC. Davis took over the reins in Chapel Hill after Roy Williams’ departure in the offseason following 18 seasons, 16 tournament appearances, and 485 wins with the program. Davis and the Heels have now won 20 or more games for the first time since 2018-19, but the team has struggled at times. In late January, UNC dropped back-to-back blowout losses against conference contenders Wake Forest and Miami to fall to 12-6 on the year. Since January 23rd, North Carolina is 9-2 and has vaulted into NCAA Tournament conversations.
UNC forward Armando Bacot has carried much of the freight for the team. The junior is the 7th leading scorer in the ACC with 16.3 points per game, sixth in conference with 52 blocks, and dwarfs all other conference competition in rebounds with 362 total boards. Bacot’s closest competitor in that category - NC State’s Dereon Seabron - is a distant second with 242. Last year against Syracuse, Bacot put up an 18-point, 15-rebound double double as UNC fell 72-70.
However, the Heels aren’t a one-man show. The team’s dynamic attack is supported by players like sophomore guard Caleb Love, who has racked up 108 assists and 64 three-pointers for the ACC’s third-highest scoring offense. Graduate forward Brady Manek is a similar sharpshooter who leads the team with 65 three-pointers and has hit nearly 49% of his shots. Sophomore guard R.J. Davis rounds out the team’s quartet of double-digit scorers.
As Syracuse prepares for UNC, it will likely focus on the Heels’ porous defense. UNC ranks third-worst in the conference in scoring defense and only marginally better than second-worst Syracuse in that category. In ‘Cuse’s defeat against Duke, guards Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard combined to put up 41 points. Similar scoring plus a strong effort from center Frank Anselem and SU’s beleaguered defense is the likely path for Syracuse to succeed on Monday night.
Opening tip for Monday night’s game is at 7 p.m. WAER’s coverage begins at 6:30 with Countdown to Tipoff.