UNC got good news 25 minutes before tipoff against Syracuse when it was announced that the game time decision on Henri Veesaar was that the big man would play. The Tar Heels looked rudderless without Veesaar and Caleb Wilson in their massive stinker against NC State. The hope was that having Veesaar, even at less than 100%, would be better than nothing. That turned out to be the case as Carolina put healthy distance between them and the Orange in the second half for a 77-64 win.
The first half was
close with the teams both shooting roughly 42% from the field. Syracuse couldn’t buy a basket from long distance, going 1-8 from deep. The Heels made five of their six threes for the game in the first half and only led five at the break.
Carolina had a better second half, particularly after Syracuse was able to tie it with just over 12 minutes left. The Heels shot 62% from the field and made it to the free throw line 19 in the second half. Free throw shooting was a struggle, as it has been often this season, as they made just 15 of their 28 attempts, but everything worked out in the end this time. UNC scored 13 points off Syracuse’s 10 turnovers and had 19 fast break points.
Veesaar was the team’s leading scorer in his return with 19 points and three rebounds. Seth Trimble scored all 13 of his points in the second half, and Luka Bogavac matched him with 13 points of his own. Zayden High fouled out late but fell one point short of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Asking a team to win without their best player is tough. Asking them to win without both of their best players is nearly impossible when the opponent is not completely inept. Getting Veesaar back from his somewhat mysterious lower extremity injury makes the waiting for Wilson’s return a little less desperate. Hopefully we aren’t too far away from getting to see them both back together for the run toward tournament time.
UNC welcomes Louisville to Chapel Hill for their next game on Monday night.
