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UNC was the preseason No. 1 overall team. The NCAA Tournament runner-up returned two dynamic starters, Armando Bacot and Caleb Love, while RJ Davis and Leaky Black have seen their roles increase. This Tuesday night game should have simply been another Atlantic Coast Conference win for North Carolina. On paper, it was a road game against a once-dominant program now searching to regain stability following its first sub-.500 season in over half a century. Syracuse would enjoy the chance at a primetime game, the JMA Wireless Dome would fill up for the top-billed matchup, and fans would likely see a game that looked similar to last year’s blowout against Duke.

The season started out for both squads exactly as everyone thought, with a much younger Syracuse team sputtering and losing games it shouldn’t. North Carolina easily took care of its first five mid-major opponents. Then, UNC dropped four-straight games, lost to Pittsburgh and scored just 58 points in a loss to Virginia.

Meanwhile, the Orange won six ACC games and hung tight with Miami, Virginia and the Panthers. Tuesday night suddenly became a realistic opportunity — KenPom said a 41% change — to gain a Quadrant I win.

Bacot’s 18 points brought boo birds raining down on Jesse Edwards’ questionable play down low, while Joe Girard III kept the Orange competitive on offense. Syracuse led for less than a minute, helped along by Chris Bell and a poised Girard. Though Bacot dominated the Orange — specifically Edwards — down low, the Orange pulled through. Within a minute, a pump-faked 3 by Girard, a missed free throw put back by Nance tipped in by Girard and a flagrant foul call on Judah Mintz all happened. A forty-minute game came down to moments — Syracuse just didn’t have enough to swing it its way.

Here are some observations from the loss:

Syracuse struggles to defend barrage of UNC’s forwards

Head coach Jim Boeheim has said the same thing about his frontcourt all season: Syracuse can’t handle physical teams throughout an entire game. Maliq Brown showed up against Virginia Tech, then shrank and scored just one point against Miami. Boeheim brushed it off by saying the Hurricanes were simply more physical than the Hokies. So, the Tar Heels funneling their offense through the experienced hand of Bacot down low wasn’t ideal for the Orange.

But Black and Pete Nance also dominated the Orange inside the paint. Both of the senior forwards stood at the elbows on either side of the free-throw line awaiting holes to open up in the 2-3 zone defense. Once they opened up, UNC simply plugged in Nance or Black to their offensive scheme and watched as the pair combined for 25 points alongside Bacot’s 18. Shortly after Syracuse moved within three points of the Tar Heels, Davis once again found Nance standing at the left edge of the free throw line. Nance grabbed the pass inside, pivoted and quickly pulled up for the jumper before Edwards could fade up to contest the shot.

In the second half when Syracuse switched to a full-court press, it was still the Tar Heels’ forwards that maintained a lead as long as they could down the stretch. The guards handled getting out of the Orange’s traps, many of which started working as the final 10 minutes waned off the clock. Nance and Bacot shaded away from the inbound pass and toward the basket, where — when successful — they received outlet passes that continued to lead to layups and dunks.

Bacot battles Edwards down low

Bacot is the guy for North Carolina, and he has been — this season and last — in the conversation for the Naismith College Player of the Year award. Entering the game averaging a team-high 17.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, Bacot has already managed 13 double-doubles this season and is a massive scoring threat. He’s also posted a 16.7% offensive rebounding rate, which is 14th-best in the country. The only listed physical difference between him and Edwards is a five-pound weight advantage for Bacot, but he made Edwards look like a guard who hadn’t yet filled out his frame.

Edwards was clumsy with the ball and dribbled outside of his body. He flailed his arms haphazardly and got called for personal fouls at an alarming pace. Bacot was poised and grounded, and he took advantage of Edwards, bullying him inside the paint for an easy-looking 18 points. He’d collect a pass usually at the top portion of the paint and had plenty of space and strength to drive around Edwards. Then, Bacot could spin around, pull up or step right through Edwards.

On defense, he seamlessly gained position on Edwards and blocked out all other attempts by Bell or Williams to break inside and nab an offensive rebound. One of the league’s most effective offensive rebounders grabbed the majority of his boards on defense, but that’s because those were the loose balls that seemed to fall into his hands without obstruction.

Edwards seemed to lose midway through the second half when he couldn’t seem to buy a rebound, and Boeheim took him out for a good chunk of the half in favor of Mounir Hima. Then with under five minutes remaining, Bacot received a pass inside and backed down Edwards. But Syracuse’s center smartly fell over and drew a charge call on Bacot, his fourth, forcing him out of the game.

Girard’s good 1st half shows maturity down the stretch

Girard might have finally hit his stride. Once hot, then ice cold this season, Girard has gone a few games without turning in a bad shooting performance. And against North Carolina, while he finished the first half with just one missed shot and nailed both of his 3-point attempts, Girard was as effective as he’s been creating scoring opportunities from his off-ball movements. Toward the end of the first half, he stuck a hand in Love’s face on a 3-point attempt, forcing Love to shoot slightly to the right and miss the attempt. Underneath the basket, Benny Williams found the loose ball rebound and looked up court to Girard, who immediately after he saw Williams gain possession, bolted up the court.

Williams chucked the ball across the court to him, and Girard — with just one man between him, a five-point deficit and a ruckus JMA Wireless Dome — went up, and with both hands, laid in a contested layup. He became less effective in the first half after coming up limping following a loose ball, but stayed in the game down to the end after resting for about five minutes. While Mintz struggled to maintain his composure and got trapped, fouled or turned the ball over down the stretch, Girard tried to balance out Syracuse’s possessions.

He stayed within himself once again late in the second half — despite one step back 3 pointer that missed everything but the far side of the backboard. Ending with a team-high in points, Girard ensured that the Orange were able to overcome a 10-point deficit that North Carolina piled on the Orange in the middle of the second half. His presence settled down Syracuse’s young lineup, who responded to UNC’s up-tempo approach to the end of the game in kind. Girard slowed them down, signaling to Mintz to pause when the freshman wanted to drive. It wasn’t a career game, but it was enough to keep the Orange close enough until the final 10 seconds.

Freshman Chris Bell puts forth strong effort

Bell has had a difficult season full of Boeheim’s blatant postgame call-outs, chiding against his lack of effort and apparent aversion to rebounding. Despite a handful of double-digit scoring performances, most recently against Notre Dame, the freshman, who is used to playing more outside from high school, still hadn’t shown he could be an effective rebounder, or even want to be. But Bell flew around the court on Tuesday night.

Even when he wasn’t successful, like after a missed 3 late in the first half, Bell still sprinted as soon as he let go of his shot toward the hoop. He tried to get a hand on it, but Edwards ended up poking the ball out of bounds. Bell still scored, adding 15 points for the Orange, but created chances for other players and extended possessions by crashing the boards. While Williams sat on the outer arc, Bell was trying to muscle loose balls away from Nance and Bacot, ending the evening with four rebounds.

With just under 14 minutes remaining in the second half, it was clear that Edwards was getting overmatched. At that point, he was beginning to get overpowered by Bacot’s physicality. The possession started with Love not putting enough on a 3-pointer, and Edwards getting knocked out of position by Black, who collected the rebound and passed it to Tyler Nickel. Then, the ball found its way back down to Black, who battled with Edwards, trying three times for a layup. But Edwards could never get a rebound or get around Black. Finally, Bell flew in and grabbed the rebound, ending the barrage of shots on the fourth attempt.

Published on January 24, 2023 at 11:55 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt