Syracuse basketball has a daunting week ahead, with road dates in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Charlottesville, Va., against top-20 foes North Carolina and Virginia, respectively.
The Orange snapped its four-game losing streak when the 'Cuse beat Notre Dame last Saturday night on the Hill. Syracuse basketball played one of its better games of the 2025-26 season, and it was much-needed to calm down an anxious fan base.
Now, let's see what the Orange is made of, as the team has two quadrant-one opportunities this week. The 'Cuse is so far removed from the bubble conversation for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, but the key for Syracuse basketball is to build off the win over the Fighting Irish and take things one game at a time.
It will be interesting to see if head coach Adrian Autry elects to, for the second straight contest, insert freshman Sadiq White Jr. into the Orange's starting line-up at power forward over sophomore Donnie Freeman, the team's leading scorer this season.
How to watch Syracuse basketball at No. 16 North Carolina on Saturday.
The Orange (13-9 overall, 4-5 in ACC) and the Tar Heels (17-4 overall, 5-3 in ACC) are scheduled to tip off at 7:00 pm EST on Monday, Feb. 2, at the Dean E. Smith Center, with television coverage on ESPN. In their all-time series together, per SU Athletics, the 'Cuse is just 7-18 against UNC, and Syracuse basketball is 0-7 in Chapel Hill. Yikes.
The Tar Heels have won three in a row, including a recent strong five-point triumph at Virginia. For the entire season, UNC has defeated Central Arkansas, Kansas, Radford, North Carolina Central, Navy, St. Bonaventure, Kentucky, Georgetown, South Carolina Upstate, East Tennessee State, Ohio State, East Carolina, Florida State, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Virginia and Georgia Tech.
On the flip side, North Carolina has fallen to Michigan State, SMU, Stanford and California. The Tar Heels are 12-0 at home so far in 2025-26, which isn't a good sign for the Orange's chances to spring an upset.
At the time of this writing, the 'Cuse was No. 73 in the NCAA NET rankings, with UNC at No. 25. Over at KenPom, Syracuse basketball is No. 70, while North Carolina checks in at No. 29.
The Tar Heels score 83.0 points per game and give up 70.3 points. They average 40.0 rebounds, 17.2 assists, 6.0 steals, 3.8 blocks and 9.5 turnovers per contest while making 48.1 percent from the field, 68.1 percent from the free-throw line and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. A member of UNC's roster is freshman guard Derek Dixon from the Washington, D.C., area, a former SU recruiting target who had officially visited the program.
The Orange, meanwhile, scores 75.8 points per affair and allows 70.0 points. The 'Cuse averages 35.2 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 6.9 steals, 6.0 blocks and 11.3 turnovers per game while connecting on 47.1 percent from the field, 63.1 percent from the charity stripe and 33.7 percent from 3-point range.