Tag: Syracuse

What went wrong in UNC’s loss to Syracuse

A look back at UNC’s Tuesday night loss, taking a closer look at what went wrong for the Tar Heels.

The UNC men’s basketball program suffered their second road loss of the season after a ridiculous shooting performance by Syracuse.

A lot went wrong in the Tar Heels 86-79 loss to Syracuse, starting on the night of the week the game took place. UNC has had a bad stretch of Tuesday night games, going 0-3 the last three weeks when the game falls on that day. All three losses came against teams that the Tar Heels were heavily favored, which ended in upset (Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Syracuse).

Outside of bad luck Tuesdays, the biggest problem UNC faced was trying to stop the Orange’s insane shooting performance. Syracuse finished with 63% from the field, the highest % against UNC since 2015, when Pitt shot 64.5% to beat the Tar Heels 89-76.

Another glaring issue is UNC against the zone, yes the same zone that hindered the Tar Heels in their loss against Clemson. Zone defense has become the kryptonite for UNC offense as teams are preventing [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] from getting going, utilizing the zone to force the ball out of his hands.

Despite having four players score in double figures, the cold shooting streaks made a significant difference in the outcome, with zone defense playing a huge part.

Panic has started to show for UNC fans as once a strong ACC lead is now tied with rival Duke. The other issue is that teams will likely keep throwing zone defense at the Tar Heels, hindering their half-court offense.

UNC played better than what the overreaction might’ve called for. They finished with 19 assists (second highest this season) and shot an efficient 47.5% from the field. However, when a team shoots lights out like Syracuse did, it’s hard to overcome, no matter how well every other aspect of the game went.

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Syracuse has historic shooting night in win over UNC

Syracuse had a historic shooting night in the upset win over North Carolina on Tuesday night, earning a big home win.

Being a ranked team and going on the road is no easy task in college basketball but that’s especially the case this season. And the latest team to find that out was North Carolina.

The No. 7 Tar Heels stumbled on the road again on Tuesday night, falling to Syracuse 86-79. While North Carolina was able to battle back in the second half and even take a one-point lead, Syracuse had the answer and grabbed the lead for good down the stretch.

And it was actually a historic shooting night for the Orange against North Carolina.

Syracuse shot 62.5 percent from the field in this game including 47.1 percent from the three-point line. That shooting percentage was the second-highest against North Carolina in the post-Dean Smith era. Yeah, that’s right…..

The only team better was Pitt who shot 64.9 percent from the field back in 2015.

While UNC really couldn’t stop the driving into the paint, Syracuse still shot the ball really well from the field. They made open and contested looks including a dagger three on a bank shot from about 28 feet out with UNC leading by 1.

It didn’t matter what UNC tried on defense, it was one of those nights for Syracuse and sometimes you have to tip your cap. Let’s just hope this doesn’t carry over for UNC and they can amp up the defense with a month to go before the NCAA Tournament.

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Social media reacts to UNC’s rollercoaster loss to Syracuse

Social media reacts to UNC’s inability to stop Syracuse’s onslaught, continuing their bad stretch of Tuesday’s games.

The UNC men’s basketball program traveled North, taking on Syracuse, and it was deep waters early for the Tar Heels.

UNC’s trend of unlucky Tuesdays continued, with Syracuse getting off to an insane start from the field. The Oranges shot 63.2%(12-19) from the field and 57.1%(4-7) in the first 13 minutes of action grabbing a double-digit lead. However, UNC was able to weather Syracuse’s storm, going on a 17-6 run to retake the lead.

UNC got hot shooting 55.6%(15-27) from the field and 53.8%(7-13) from three in the first period. A large part of the Tar Heels’ offensive success came from their transfers, with [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] and [autotag]Harrison Ingram[/autotag] combining for half of the UNC first-half points.

The two Tar Heel’s names flooded social media, grabbing the spotlight as college hoop fans reacted to their fiery start. The first half ended at 42 a piece, with both teams having a piece of the momentum heading into the locker room.

The second half started in more disarray for UNC, starting 0-8 from the field. It was becoming more apparent that an upset could be on the horizon and the overreaction was all over social.

The roller coaster game continued, with the Tar Heels eventually regaining the lead despite Syracuse shooting 62% with under seven minutes left to play. That lead didn’t last long as the Oranges kept pouring it on. The Tar Heels were able to keep the game close, but the unbelievable shooting was too much, giving UNC their second road loss of the season.

The Tar Heels will be back in action Saturday as they welcome Tyler Nickel and Virginia Tech back to Chapel Hill. Before we get too ahead, we take a look at the social media reactions to UNC’s rollercoaster loss.

How to watch Tuesday’s UNC vs. Syracuse basketball game

Here’s how you can watch Tuesday’s matchup between the UNC basketball program and Syracuse.

The UNC men’s basketball program will travel north for a Tuesday night matchup against Syracuse.

The Tar Heels ride into this matchup with all eyes on them as they were able to avoid losing two games in a row. Instead, UNC escaped the Miami Hurricanes late game surge Saturday, moving to a 6-1 record on the road.

These two teams met in early January, which saw the Tar Heels victorious 103-67 in Chapel Hill. UNC’s early defensive efforts played a large role in the win, holding Syracuse to 29% from the field in the first half.

UNC is in a great position to sweep the Orange in the regular season, and after nearly falling apart against Miami, they will be motivated to finish this one strong.

Let’s take a look at how to watch this ACC Tuesday night game.

UNC-Syracuse, RADIO, AND STREAMING INFORMATION

WHAT: North Carolina (19-5, 11-2 ACC) vs. Syracuse (15-9, 6-7 ACC)

WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7:00 p.m. ET

LOCATION: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, New York

TV: ESPN (Watch and stream the game live on ESPN)

SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM (81 or 193)

WEBSITE: WatchESPN

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ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Feb. 11

Guess who represents Notre Dame here.

We’re getting into the first full week of February now. It doesn’t seem like we already should be at this stage of the season, but we are. It’s another reminder for ACC teams that haven’t made their moves yet that the clock continues to tick. If they don’t, they’ll be put in their place by players like these conference statistical leaders:

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Feb. 4

Guess which leader represents Notre Dame.

We’re getting into the first full week of February now. It doesn’t seem like we already should be at this stage of the season, but we are. It’s another reminder for ACC teams that haven’t made their moves yet that the clock continues to tick. If they don’t, they’ll be put in their place by players like these conference statistical leaders:

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Jan. 28

Guess who represents Notre Dame on this list.

We have reached the point in the season where the calendar flips to another month. The contenders and pretenders slowly are starting to distinguish themselves from each other. February will separate the pack even further. Until that happens, here are the major statistical leaders in the ACC:

Notre Dame upsets UConn in prime-time game on road

It’s rare for a nonconference game to come up in January and even rarer for them to feel so good.

It’s rare for a nonconference game to come up in January and even rarer for them to feel so good. In front of a prime-time TV audience, Notre Dame had the chance to show what it could do against longtime rival UConn.

By the end, people had to question what the Irish couldn’t do. They got the signature win of their season by upsetting the Huskies, 82-67, for the second straight year, this time on their home floor. Halting the Huskies’ 13-game winning streak and spoiling a night in which they honored past national championship teams was not a bad response to the home loss to Syracuse two days earlier.

The Irish (15-4) trailed by 12 early in the second quarter but went into halftime on a 26-5 run that ended with a [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Huskies (17-4) came back to take a three-point lead late in the third quarter, but the Irish scored six unanswered to finish the frame.

The fourth quarter saw the Irish take advantage of poor Huskies shooting (2 of 12 from the field), and they outscored their hosts, 22-10, sending several Huskies fans to the exits early.

Hidalgo was held without a steal for the first time in her collegiate career, but she more than made up for that by scoring 34 points, the most for an Irish freshman, to go with 10 rebounds and six assists. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] was almost as impressive with 23 points, including three 3s.

[autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 15 points, and [autotag]Natalija Marshall[/autotag] added 10 off the bench.

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Photos from Notre Dame’s home loss to Syracuse

The Orange sweep the Irish for the regular season.

Notre Dame lost on the road to Syracuse on New Year’s Eve to begin ACC play. The Irish met the Orange again Thursday, this time in South Bend. The change in venue turned out not to matter. The Orange broke a 51-all tie after the third quarter to outscore the Irish, 28-14, in the fourth, and win, 79-65.

While the Irish (14-4, 5-3) are ranked 15th and the Orange (17-2, 7-1) are 22nd, the Orange have shown twice this season that they have the Irish’s number. If these programs face other again in the ACC Tournament or, God forbid, the NCAA Tournament, we know who has the edge. Unfortunately, it’s not the Irish.

Dyaisha Fair played the entire game for the Orange and led all scorers with 25 points, including four 3-pointers. Alaina Rice scored 19 points, and Georgia Woolley added 12 while coming within a rebound of a double-double. Kyra Wood grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] led the Irish with 23 points, four assists and three steals while making all eight of her free throws. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 14 points, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] had 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out. Hidalgo and Citron both picked four fouls of their own.

Here are some images from the defeat:

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Jan. 21

One player for Notre Dame is on the list.

College basketball is entering the final full week of January. Not to worry about the games ending anytime soon though. We still have a long way to go this season, and there are many things to decide. There’s no sense in missing any of it.

Here are the leaders in the ACC right now: