After losing to Clemson earlier this week, the Tar Heels will look to get back in the win column later today, against the Syracuse Orange, one of the worst teams in the ACC. Carolina was blown out at Clemson 85-65 on Monday night, putting the team in a must-win situation down the stretch if they have any hopes of making the NCAA Tournament. After getting to a respectable 12-6 back in mid-January, Carolina has gone 2-5 over their last seven games, bringing into question, Hubert Davis’s job security, with the potential of missing the Big Dance for a second time in three seasons.
Syracuse hasn't enjoyed the type of success they would’ve hoped for after the retirement of Jim Boeheim, and this year the program has hit rock bottom, as they are 11-14 on the season, including being just 5-9 in the ACC, with a loss to Miami the last time they took the floor. JJ Starling is their best player and is one of three players on the roster to average double figures scoring, on a team that doesn’t do anything well.
During his radio show on Wednesday, Hubert Davis announced that he was meeting with Ian Jackson and helping him dive deeper into the film to help the freshman get back to his scoring ways. Jackson has been held scoreless in his last two games, officially hitting the freshman wall. With RJ Davis finally rounding into form, he still needs help on the perimeter to take the pressure off of him to be the only outside scorer. If Jackson can get back to his level of production that we saw back in early January, it might be enough for Carolina to get hot down the stretch, and that’s what they need to do if they want to be playing meaningful basketball come March.
Carolina is just 3-6 away from Chapel Hill, including having lost four straight, and most of them, have been non-competitive. A loss today would be hard to come back from and might be another strike against Hubert Davis, who is looking to solidify his position on the Carolina bench down the final stretch of the regular season. Here’s how they avoid a catastrophic loss on the road later tonight at Syracuse:
Contain JJ Starling: For all the imperfections of this Syracuse team, if Starling gets hot, he’s more than capable of shooting Syracuse to an upset win over the Tar Heels. In the win over Carolina last year, Starling played 40 minutes, and scored 23 points, on an efficient 9-15 shooting including going 3-6 from behind the arc. He doesn’t have his running mate, Judah Mintz with him anymore, but the former five-star recruit can put this team on his back, if he gets hot, and gets into rhythm, something Carolina can’t allow to happen.
Rebounding: Led by Eddie Lampkin, Syracuse is among the better rebounding teams in the ACC, and they rank 65th nationally in that department. Carolina got bullied by Clemson’s bigs on Monday night, and while Lampkin isn’t the same caliber of player, he’s averaging nearly a double-double so far this season. Ven-Allen Lubin will need to be better tonight than he was on Monday, and the same could be sad for Jalen Washington, as both failed to impact the game positively.
Limit Turnovers: Carolina has taken care of the basketball when they’ve played at home, but that hasn’t been the case when they’ve gone on the road, and it all starts with Elliot Cadeau. Syracuse is going to want to shorten the game, which means every possession will have more value than in a game that has a normal amount of possessions. That means they need to make smart passes, and not commit those live ball turnovers that lead to layups, dunks, or transition threes for the opponent. If Carolina commits 12+ turnovers, it’s hard to see a pathway to victory.
Series History:
Carolina is 17-7 all-time against the Orange, and are 13-4 since they joined the ACC over a decade ago. In the JMA Wireless Dome, UNC is 5-3, despite losing there last season.
KenPom:
North Carolina - 47th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 116.4 (52nd) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 100.5 (56th)
Syracuse - 127th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 109.6 (130th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 106.6 (159th)
NET:
North Carolina - 50th.
Syracuse - 148th.
TV Info:
Tonight’s game will tip at 6 PM on ESPN.
The Four Corners Podcast:
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