Syracuse Basketball vs. UNC: 4 Keys to the Game
By David Stone
The Syracuse basketball team takes on #6 North Carolina tonight in the Carrier Dome at 8 pm in Jim Boeheim’s first game back from suspension.
Yesterday I predicted that Syracuse basketball would upset North Carolina tonight in the dome. Today, let’s take a look at North Carolina’s roster and list some of the things Syracuse will need to do in order to have a chance at that upset.
Let me start this by saying that North Carolina is a very good basketball team. They have depth, size, excellent shooters, and two of the most talented players in the country in Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson.
That being said, I strongly feel that this game really shouldn’t even be making a difference for North Carolina. In my opinion, the NCAA is purposely dragging their feet in the investigation into over 1,000 student athletes who took paper courses to stay eligible. It’s been made abundantly clear that nothing will be decided until after this season, which seems incredibly convenient for a team that is one of the favorites to win a national title.
But that’s a topic for another article. Let’s just focus on the team itself, and what Syracuse will need to do to shut them down.
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As I said, North Carolina is incredibly talented. With Marcus Paige finally recovered from injury, their roster is set and ready to make life hell for any team they face in the ACC. Paige, in his 10 games this year, is averaging 16.3 points, 3.7 assists, and is shooting 44% from 3. Those numbers may not seem gaudy, but a lot of that is due to the incredibly balanced offense that North Carolina trots out. They have five players averaging over 12 points per game.
Brice Johnson is the other leader of this team. A 6’9″ senior, Johnson is averaging a team best 16.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game on a ridiculous 64.5% field goals. He’s also hitting 80% of his free throws, which is very surprising for a big man.
Aside from those two, there are several other very talented players on North Carolina’s roster. Justin Jackson, Joel Berry, and Kennedy Meeks are all having excellent offensive seasons as well. Jackson is averaging 12.8 points and 4.1 rebounds. Berry is just behind at 12.5 points and leads the team with 4.4 assists per game. He’s also hitting 36% of his 3s. Meeks is at 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and is another 6’9 big man who lives in the paint and shoots 59.5% from the field.
North Carolina also boasts a solid supporting cast of Isaiah Hicks, Nate Britt, and Theo Pinson. Hicks is averaging 9.6 points and 4 rebounds on an even more disgusting 68% from the field. Britt is a 3-point shooting ace who hits 40% of his 3s and is scoring 7.4 points a game. Pinson is averaging a solid 6 points and 4 rebounds a game.
All of this adds up to one of the most potent offenses in the country. North Carolina is 5th in the nation in points per game at 87.8. It’s going to be very difficult for Syracuse to shut them down on the offensive end.
So what does Syracuse need to do to stay in the game and have a chance to win it at the end? Here are the four keys for Syracuse in this game and how they might be able to achieve them.