North Carolina seems to have it flowing again, and at an ideal juncture of the season.
The Tar Heels will carry a three-game winning streak into Monday night’s home finale against Syracuse at Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina (21-8, 13-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) remains in the chase for a share of the conference title. The Har Heels must win their final two games — the latter vs. first-place Duke — along with the Blue Devils losing at Pitt on Tuesday. In addition, second-place Notre Dame must stumble at least once.
“I’m just really proud of the guys and how resilient they’ve been,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said.
Syracuse (15-14, 9-9), which is eighth in the ACC standings, suffered its second straight loss with a 97-72 home setback to No. 7 Duke on Saturday night.
“We’ll go to practice and get ready to go to North Carolina,” Orange coach Jim Boeheim said. “That’s all we can do at this stage. … I don’t think Duke is a game you can measure anything by.”
Syracuse and North Carolina were involved in similar games during the weekend, although on opposite sides.
North Carolina recorded its third straight win, 84-74 at North Carolina State on Saturday. The Tar Heels bolted to a 26-8 lead over the Wolfpack, while Syracuse fell into a 41-13 hole against Duke.
Both teams have players accustomed to high minute counts. North Carolina guard Caleb Love played all 40 minutes Saturday, marking his second full game in a week. Yet Syracuse had only two starters log more than 22 minutes vs. the Blue Devils.
North Carolina forward Armando Bacot is coming off a 28-point, 18-rebound effort at NC State.
He took advantage of an injury-riddled NC State interior. Syracuse also is without its top post player since Jesse Edwards suffered a season-ending wrist injury. Duke center Mark Williams feasted on the interior against the Orange.
“We just have to play better on that end (on defense),” Boeheim said.
Of concern for North Carolina will be the status of guard Leaky Black, who didn’t play in the second half Saturday because of a hyperextended knee. However, reserve Puff Johnson picked up a bulk of those minutes and ended with a career-best 16 points.
“When (the opportunity) comes, the only job you have is to be ready,” Davis said. “When I called Puff, he was ready. He stepped up.”
–Field Level Media
