Just when you thought that Carolina was down and out after a roller coaster week of wins (brutal beatdown of Louisville) and losses (head-scratching loss to Marquette), the Heels found some much needed fortitude and overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to win 78-70 against the nation’s 11th-ranked team. The thrilling victory, Roy Williams’ 900th as a head coach, was UNC’s second Quad 1 win of the season. An away trip to Syracuse presents a chance to capture a third.
Carolina is usually comfortable playing against the Orange and their 2-3 zone. In their first meeting this season in Chapel Hill, Syracuse did not have the size needed to compete with Carolina’s bigs as UNC came away with a +17 rebounding margin.