The No. 7 North Carolina men’s basketball team (13-3, 5-0 ACC) defeated Syracuse (11-5, 2-3 ACC) on Saturday, winning 103-67 and keeping its undefeated record in the ACC.
The Tar Heels started the game by getting off to a slow shooting start, going 1-for-5 from the field before heating up, knocking down its next five shots to go into the first media timeout up 13-7 with five players scoring.
North Carolina followed this up with a 32-11 run over the next 10 minutes that showcased why it’s only one of four teams in the country that is top 15 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. During the run, UNC held Syracuse to 2-for-15 shooting from the field while simultaneously shooting 11-for-20.
Syracuse made up some ground, going on a 9-0 run to cut UNC’s lead to 18 points but North Carolina responded and went into halftime with a 52-30 lead with eight different players contributing to UNC’s point total, including a team-high 15 points from senior guard RJ Davis.
“I think we’ve done a good job of responding,” graduate center Armando Bacot said. “Like when they cut it to 15, we knew we had to get it back up and credit to the coaches. They’ve been doing a good job all year of defining what principles we want to follow and what our identity is as a team.”
The first half was an offensive nightmare for Syracuse as the Tar Heels forced for the third straight half their opponent to shoot under 30 percent from the field. In addition, the Orange lost the ball 10 times, with eight of those turnovers off of UNC steals, including four from Davis.
“Defensively, we started locking in,” head coach Hubert Davis said. “We started getting deflections and steals and stops and then we’re able to get out in transition and go. We’ve been in those situations.”
Syracuse came out for the second half with all the momentum, making its first three shots, while North Carolina missed its first three shots, cutting the lead to 15 points. However, this didn’t last long as North Carolina immediately reasserted their dominance going on an 8-0 run that featured an emphatic dunk from graduate center Armando Bacot and a fast-break layup from Davis off of a career-high-tying fifth steal.
Midway into the second half, North Carolina held a commanding 85-51 lead over Syracuse, allowing the Tar Heels to take out four of their five starters. Both Bacot and junior forward Harrison Ingram finished the game with double-doubles while Davis scored 20-plus points for the 10th time this season.
