Tag: UNC vs. Syracuse

Tar Heels drop just one spot in which rankings after Syracuse loss?

Losses to unranked teams hurt in the rankings. Surprisingly, UNC’s Tuesday loss to Syracuse didn’t drop it that many spots in the NET.

Losing to an unranked team, no matter how good it might be, is typically followed by a fall down the rankings.

One of those such losses came on Tuesday night in The Empire State, when 7th-ranked UNC (who is surely to drop out of Top 10 next Monday) fell to unranked Syracuse. This was North Carolina’s third loss in its last five games, turning a once-NCAA Tournament favorite into just another team.

The next AP Poll won’t come out until Monday, but it’s not too early to start guessing how many spots teams will rise and fall. The Tar Heels now have six losses – not bad, but definitely not how many a top seed would have.

In the latest NET rankings, which are largely used to help determine a team’s NCAA Tournament seeding, UNC dropped just one spot to 11th.

North Carolina is largely helped out by its tough non-conference schedule, which includes games against ranked teams in Tennessee and Kentucky. Playing Duke once already helps, while the Tar Heels also dealt Oklahoma its first loss in December.

Plain and simple – UNC needs to beat Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon. A win likely won’t boost North Carolina’s rankings, as the Hokies are 60th in the NET, but it’ll reassure Tar Heel Nation.

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What Hubert Davis said after another UNC Tuesday letdown vs. Syracuse

UNC head coach Hubert Davis carried a confident tone in his postgame presser after the Syracuse loss, citing he wasn’t too worried about it.

Tuesday night against Syracuse showed one thing – the UNC men’s basketball team is nowhere near a National Championship contender.

Losing 86-79 to the Orange (16-9, 7-7 ACC) was a far cry from the original matchup, when North Carolina dominated in a 36-point victory on Saturday, Jan. 13. The Tar Heels looked like a true title favorite last month, in the midst of a historic defensive stretch and having virtually everyone step up to make shots.

UNC didn’t play horrible basketball, but it didn’t play well, either. Tuesday was North Carolina’s third time allowing 80 points in a game this month, after not allowing an opponent to score more than 74 in January.

Syracuse enjoyed a historic offensive night, shooting 62.5 percent from the field. Judah Mintz and JJ Starling both scored 20 points, while not a single Tar Heel reached that mark. On the bright side, Cormac Ryan played all 40 minutes and scored in double-digits for the first time in January.

North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis played his bench, but no one saw more minutes than Seth Trimble with 11. You could make the case UNC players were tired, but they appeared more frustrated with not being able to break Syracuse’s zone.

Let’s see exactly what Hubert had to say after the Tar Heels’ third loss in five games:

Tar Heels struggle against Syracuse’s zone defense, drop third consecutive Tuesday game

For whatever reason, UNC can’t seem to win a weekday game. North Carolina fell to a middle-of-the-road Syracuse team tonight on the road.

Can we start a petition for UNC not to play anymore mid-week basketball games?

On Tuesday, North Carolina couldn’t quite get over the hump in its 86-79 loss to Syracuse. It was the third straight Tuesday loss for the Tar Heels (19-6, 11-3), who have quickly gone from a team with a multiple-game lead in the ACC to now holding a half-game lead over Duke in the conference.

UNC struggled against the Orange’s (16-9, 7-7) signature zone defense, which forced guys like Elliot Cadeau – who’s more of a drive-to-the-basket-type player, to take rushed jumpers. The Tar Heels still shot 47.5 percent from the field, but couldn’t drain shots in the biggest moments.

North Carolina’s defense also struggled big-time, allowing Syracuse to shoot an alarming 62.5 percent from the field, led by a pair of 20-point scorers in Judah Mintz (game-high 25 points) and JJ Starling (23).

This is a much different tone than January, when the Tar Heels looked like one of the ACC’s best defensive teams. UNC went 10 straight games holding opponents to 70 points or less, starting with Oklahoma back in December and ending with Florida State late January.

UNC had four double-digit scorers, led by a surprising 18 points from Cormac Ryan, but Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram were the only starters to shoot over 50 percent.

If there’s one positive about what North Carolina did, it’s the ability to climb back from large deficits. The Tar Heels were down nearly 10 at separate occasions, but saved by 3-pointers from RJ Davis and Harrison Ingram.

Player of the Game

I’m gonna go ahead and give this one to Cormac Ryan, who needed a high-scoring game in the biggest way.

Ryan scored 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, plus a 2-of-2 mark from the charity stripe. It was Ryan’s first time since UNC’s 75-68 win over Florida State on Saturday, Jan. 27 that he reached double-digits.

If North Carolina wants to beat Virginia Tech on Saturday, it’ll be helpful for Ryan to have another high-scoring game.

What’s Next

The Tar Heels welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies to the Dean Dome on Saturday, Feb. 17 for a 2 p.m. ET tip-off.

Virginia Tech (13-10, 5-7), who once looked like a decent team in the ACC, are losers of its past three. The Hokies are playing Florida State tonight, hoping to turn their fortunes around against the conference’s fifth-place team.

Good news for UNC – Virginia Tech is just 1-6 on the road. North Carolina is 10-1 at home, but a win is no guarantee, especially after tonight’s clunker.

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