LISTEN: It was all Tar Heels in @Cuse_MBB's 103-67 loss to @UNC_Basketball. @bespector and @Jackgordon10_ had the call from Chapel Hill. pic.twitter.com/Hw7RmL6Nvj
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) January 13, 2024
Syracuse men's basketball (11-5, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) was mightily overwhelmed in its third ACC road test of the season by seventh-ranked North Carolina (13-3, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) on Saturday. The Orange suffered their worst defeat of the season, falling 103-67 to the Tar Heels.
The laborious loss was the worst Atlantic Coast Conference defeat the 'Cuse has ever endured. Even more misery for Syracuse as the Orange remain winless all-time in Chapel Hill. After the game, head coach Adrian Autry cemented that UNC was superior to SU from the jump.
"I thought today's game, from the beginning, North Carolina was the tougher team. They jumped on us and kept the pressure up. They were really good defensively," Autry said.
Anchoring the Tar Heels defense was guard RJ Davis. The senior showed out with a season-high five steals and led the way in points with 22, of which 15 came in the first half.
LISTEN: @UNC_Basketball guard RJ Davis brought his scoring total up to double digits. @bespector painted the picture for the senior's second three of the game.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) January 13, 2024
🎙️88.3 FM, https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P pic.twitter.com/cLvltWZwtb
The closest Syracuse could make the contest was a 15-point margin in the second half. However, North Carolina countered that with a 20-8 run that thoroughly put the Orange out of reach.
Tar Heels' head coach Hubert Davis was impressed with his group's mentality.
"They played with a lot of emotion today. I was really proud of their effort." Davis also exposed SU's potent weakness. "We talked about dominating points in the paint. As good as Syracuse is, they're limited in the front court, and so, we wanted to get the ball inside," Davis said.
With center Naheem McLeod out indefinitely, substitute Maliq Brown only mustered up six points. Outside of forward Chris Bell's 13 points, no Orange forward surpassed more than one point.
With Syracuse's poor frontcourt, North Carolina's fifth-year senior Armando Bacot took full advantage of it. The two-time all-ACC forward racked up 16 points on top of 11 rebounds. It marks the fourth time Bacot has tallied a double-double against the Orange. The Richmond native credits his continued dominance against SU to his teammates sticking to the game plan.
"As a group, I think we did a good job of getting to the paint, getting easy layups, getting offensive rebounds. That was really our main key the whole game," Bacot said.
This is Carolina Basketball.
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 13, 2024
📺 https://t.co/tcR58nakLPpic.twitter.com/yAkvxHAhla
A lock that Syracuse has yet to unhinge this season is securing a signature victory over an AP top-25 team. SU is 0-4 when playing ranked opponents, although, even after a dampening defeat, Autry had a simple message for his team.
"One game doesn't define a season. Whether it's a win, a big win, or a loss," Autry siad.
It is a quick turnaround for the Orange as Syracuse heads down to Pittsburgh on Tuesday. SU outlasted Pitt two weeks ago 81-73 when the bench for the 'Cuse totaled 52 points. Listen to the encore on WAER starting at 6:30 p.m. with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff.