Syracuse Basketball: North Carolina proved a bad matchup for the Orange

Syracuse basketball ran into a poor 3-point shooting team in North Carolina that ultimately and unfortunately feasted on the Orange from beyond the arc.

Syracuse basketball didn’t fare well on the court in the Orange’s final regular-stanza contest inside the Carrier Dome during the 2019-20 campaign. It’s a total bummer, with the ‘Cuse falling 92-79 to North Carolina, a crew that is currently in last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.

Still, you can’t help but admire what transpired on Saturday afternoon, save for the Syracuse outcome. Nearly 30,000 fans packed the Dome. One of the all-time greats in Orange hoops history, John Wallace, had his jersey retired.

Oh, and even though I didn’t attend this affair in person, it seems to me that two star athletes and one ‘Cuse-admiring entertainer sat near head coach Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse bench.

What a fun environment to wrap up the home slate in 2019-20. The Orange, though, certainly put forth a sub-par mark on the Hill, while performing much better away from Central New York. Kind of strange, if you ask me.

I always thought that the ‘Cuse (16-13, 9-9) would have difficulty conquering the Tar Heels (12-17, 5-13), one of the premier rebounding groups across the country. Interestingly enough, Syracuse held its own as it pertains to scoring in the paint versus UNC.

On the glass, the Tar Heels crushed the Orange. No surprise there. North Carolina also shares the ball with excellent precision, tallying a whopping 25 assists. Neither group committed a ton of turnovers.

Really, what enabled the Tar Heels to capture their ninth-consecutive triumph over the ‘Cuse is shooting. UNC, at roughly 28 percent for the year from deep, connected on 42.3 percent against Syracuse, carving up the Orange 2-3 zone.

As a whole, the Tar Heels hit on 51.6 percent from the field, and 88.2 percent from the charity stripe. That’s your ball game, folks.

Following this encounter, a lot of ‘Cuse fanatics took to social media to lambast Syracuse, saying it’s pathetic that the Orange fell by a wide margin on its own turf to a bottom-dwelling league unit. Okay, that’s fine. Those feelings are warranted.

However, let me make this abundantly clear. North Carolina, when healthy, is way more imposing than its present record suggests.

The ‘Cuse will wrap up its 2019-20 regular season at Boston College this Tuesday night, then at Miami on Saturday afternoon. Syracuse, at this juncture, is in a five-way tie for fifth place in the conference race.

The general consensus is that the Orange will have to go on a magical journey to the ACC Tournament title to earn a March Madness invite. Otherwise, a possible NIT berth is in the cards.

Considering the roster make-up that the ‘Cuse possessed entering this term, let’s not totally trash Syracuse assuming it misses out on the Big Dance. The Orange has improved throughout 2019-20, the ‘Cuse lost a bunch of really close clashes, and these kids play their collective butts off.

I wouldn’t have hoped for anything more from my alma mater. Except maybe a few additional victories, of course!