The Syracuse Orange (15-12, 6-8) are back in the national spotlight Saturday for a rematch versus the #16 North Carolina Tar Heels (20-6, 8-5). Just over two weeks ago, Syracuse traveled down to Chapel Hill and trailed by 28 points before rallying back a little to only lose by 10. Now at home, can ‘Cuse pull off its second upset over a top-25 opponent this year?
Tip-off is at 1 p.m. EST in the JMA Wireless Dome. The game will air on ABC.
Here’s what we’re watching for:
Kevin: Flush it
Syracuse wasn’t
going to beat Duke the other night but the avalanche of points isn’t going to help this team’s fragile psyche. Can they forget about the last 25 minutes and the first 25 minutes in Chapel Hill and focus on what they’ve done well against good teams? At this point you are playing for pride and a chance to show scouts what you can do, so can the Orange find their way inside the Dome?
Dom: Getting off the line fast
In the last matchup versus UNC, Syracuse found itself down 14 at halftime and over 25 late in the second half before rallying late. North Carolina is dealing with several notable injuries, but this is still a good team and now comes the question of how the Orange will respond after getting torched by Duke. Would especially like to see ‘Cuse establish a tone early on defense.
Sam: Win the battle on the inside
North Carolina goes from one of the best frontcourts in America to a weak frontcourt in the absence of Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar. We’re not sure if Veesaar is going to play, but Wilson won’t. North Carolina allows 7% more twos at the rim without those two on the floor, forces a rate of turnovers at the bottom of the sport, and drops rim efficiency by 10%. Can Syracuse take advantage of a weakened UNC and win in the paint?
Szuba: Guard play
Sam mentions the frontcourt, and I’ll go with the backcourt here. Nait & Nate have played well of late, but Starling has been held down in his last two outings. How does he respond after sitting most of the second half against SMU and being limited at Duke? North Carolina isn’t a good outside shooting team and doesn’t defend it well, either. Seth Trimble was muted in the first matchup between these two teams while Luka Bogavac has struggled shooting the ball of late. With a more level playing field on the frontcourt side of things, the battle of the backcourts could be a deciding factor in North Carolina’s tenth trip all-time to the dome.
