This contest between Syracuse basketball and North Carolina is do or die. That isn’t just because this is a single-elimination ACC Tournament, it’s because of each of the team’s resumes heading into this.
The Orange are 17-14 on the year and 10-10 in conference play. While the Tar Heels are 14-18 and 6-14 in ACC. Both teams lack the necessary credentials to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
This means this ACC Tournament is both team’s final opportunity to say “screw you committee, we are punching our own ticket to the big dance!”