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Unranked Syracuse hands No. 7 North Carolina its 3rd loss in 5 games

Jason Owens
Staff writer
·2 min read
21
JJ Starling, right, and the Orange upset Elliot Cadeau and the Tar Heels. (Rich Barnes/Reuters)

Syracuse caught fire from the field on Tuesday to stun No. 7th-ranked North Carolina, 86-79.

The win for the Orange was their first over a top-10 team since beating Zion Williamson's Duke team in 2019. The loss for North Carolina was its third in five games as it has tumbled from a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament to potentially falling out of the top 10 in the polls.

When it was over, Syracuse fans stormed the JMA Dome court.

Tuesday's upset in Syracuse was a rematch of a game the Tar Heels won, 103-67, in Chapel Hill on Jan. 13. This time the Orange offense controlled the game in a sizzling performance against one of the nation's best defenses.

Carolina entered the game ranked No. 6 in the country in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency and is one of the best teams defending the perimeter in the ACC. Syracuse wasn't fazed.

The Orange shot 62.5% from the field Tuesday, including an 8-of-17 (47.1%) effort from 3-point distance. They did so with a six-man rotation as five players shot 50% or better from the field. Four starters scored in double figures.

Syracuse put the pressure on early, jumping out to a 21-11 first-half lead. North Carolina rallied to tie the game at 42-42 at halftime, then recovered from a 52-43 second-half deficit to take a 65-64 lead late in the game. But Syracuse outscored UNC 22-14 from there to secure the upset.

Syracuse's starting backcourt of JJ Starling and Judah Mintz led the effort. Mintz led all scorers with 25 points alongside five rebounds, four assists and three steals. He shot 8 of 11 from the field and 9 of 11 from the free-throw line. Starling tallied 23 points and three rebounds while shooting 9 of 15 from the floor and 3 of 6 from 3-point distance.

North Carolina shot 47.5% from the field and 44.4% (12 of 17) from 3-point distance while winning the rebound margin, 30-23. But it wasn't enough against a hot Syracuse team that balanced its scorching offense with an active defense that forced 11 turnovers.

RJ Davis led UNC with 19 points and three assists, while Cormac Ryan tallied 18 points and three assists. Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram both had double-doubles. Bacot posted 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Ingram tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds.