Syracuse Basketball: UNC’s weapons on perimeter, interior a big problem

Syracuse basketball, in its two most recent games, losses at Notre Dame and at home to then-No. 7 Duke, has gotten destroyed on the boards.

It likely won’t get any easier in that department when the Orange travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., to face North Carolina inside the Dean E. Smith Center on Monday evening.

At the time of this writing, the Tar Heels (21-8, 13-5) were leading the Atlantic Coast Conference with 39.6 rebounds per contest. UNC was also the conference’s No. 1 squad in rebounding margin.

That probably won’t bode well for the ‘Cuse (15-14, 9-9), whose group of big men by and large struggled, save for freshman forward Benny Williams and graduate student center Bourama Sidibe, in the team’s lopsided 97-72 setback to the Blue Devils on Saturday night in Central New York before a tremendous Carrier Dome crowd.

The next foe for Syracuse basketball is really, really good on offense.

UNC junior power forward/center Armando Bacot could certainly have himself a field day versus the Orange, unless the ‘Cuse zone defense sorts itself out.

The 6-foot-10 Bacot, per ESPN, is averaging 16.3 points and an ACC-high 12.5 boards per encounter, while also connecting on 59.1 percent from the field, which is also the best in the league.

With injured junior center Jesse Edwards out for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, Sidibe, Williams, sophomore center Frank Anselem, graduate student forward Jimmy Boeheim and senior forward Cole Swider will have to step up to, hopefully, contain Bacot.

The dilemma for a beleaguered Syracuse basketball defense is that North Carolina, on offense, excels from the perimeter and in the paint.

As a collective unit, the Tar Heels hit on 45.9 percent from the field as a whole, 76.5 percent from the free-throw line, and 37.3 percent from 3-point land.

UNC averages 77.7 points a game, which is near the top of the ACC. The good news for the Orange is that the Tar Heels aren’t a stellar defensive outfit, allowing a sub-par 72.1 points per contest.

It would seem that whichever crew can put together more stops on the defensive end of the floor will end up prevailing. I know, that’s a pretty obvious statement, but both teams are among the best in the conference in scoring offense, and each is among the worst in the ACC as it pertains to scoring defense.

Led by first-year head coach Hubert Davis, North Carolina has won three in a row, while Syracuse basketball has dropped two straight. The Tar Heels, at this juncture residing at No. 3 in the ACC standings, appear to be on the right side of the proverbial bubble for this spring’s Big Dance, but just barely.

UNC has a NET ranking of No. 40, with KenPom placing the Tar Heels at No. 39 across the country. If you want to check out North Carolina’s results so far in 2021-22, click here.

For the ‘Cuse, meanwhile, it has two regular-season games left on the docket, with UNC on the road and then versus Miami at home on March 5. All-time, the Orange is 6-14 against North Carolina.

To guarantee a winning term for head coach Jim Boeheim, Syracuse basketball could do itself a favor and sweep the Tar Heels and the Hurricanes this week, prior to the ACC Tournament commencing in the near future in Brooklyn, N.Y. Of course, that’s easier said than done.