North Carolina Heads Back On The Road To Take On Syracuse

After visiting Louisville Saturday at the KFC Yum Center North Carolina is back on the road as they will visit Syracuse Wednesday night.

North Carolina comes into their game with Syracuse with a record of 21-7 and 10-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. "according to http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/conferences/standings/_/id/2/acc-conference  and are coming off a win at Louisville on Saturday.

North Carolina got the fast start it sought against Louisville and the No. 14 Tar Heels displayed that energy in numerous areas, giving coach Roy Williams a lot to like — for the most part."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

Joel Berry II scored 23 points, Luke Maye had 19 with 13 rebounds and North Carolina dominated the boards and second-chance points to beat the Cardinals 93-76 Saturday night for its fifth consecutive victory. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

The Tar Heels (21-7, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored 10 straight points for a 12-3 lead before warming up from long range to eventually build a 19-point cushion before withstanding several Louisville rallies. UNC made eight from behind the arc in the first half alone and 12 of 27 overall in a fast pace that Louisville struggled to keep up with."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

"We just came out and hit them right in the mouth," said Berry, who made 9 of 20 from the field and 5 of 11 from long range. "They tried to make a run, but as I always say, 'the game is all about runs.' But we were up so much we came out and hit them in the mouth so early when they did (rally) it didn't matter." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

Most impressive for the Tar Heels was doing all this as leading scorer Luke Maye tried to get going offensively."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

The junior forward had just two points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first half before making 7 of his final 13 attempts. Maye's rebounding offset that slow shooting start, helping the Tar Heels win the glass 44-32 and frequently get timely offensive boards to outscore the Cardinals 22-6 in second-chance points. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

Though UNC's defense struggled at times, it still held Louisville to just one free throw over the final 3:06."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

"All in all, we really played well," Williams said. "I didn't like our defense, but I haven't liked our defense all year long. Maybe we'll get it changed before I turn 90. But we made shots and guys made plays." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

Theo Pinson also scored 19 points, Cameron Johnson 12 and Kenny Williams 11 as North Carolina posted 20 assists for its first win in Louisville against the Cardinals in five tries.

Louisville (18-9, 8-6) got within single digits several times but no closer than seven in having its two-game winning streak end. Deng Adel returned from a two-game absence with an ankle injury to score 20 points and Ray Spalding 18 with 12 rebounds."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball


NO WORRIES
Maye wasn't bothered by a first half in which his lone basket came late on a tip-in. If anything, that play typified the Tar Heels' hustle and it was just a matter of time before he found his offensive flow."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

"It wasn't only one play that made it," Maye said. "I was struggling from the beginning. It's not all about me. We were winning, had a good run going." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball


BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: Being in the right place at the right time throughout helped the Tar Heels finally break through in Louisville. That's no surprise considering they entered the game outrebounding opponents by a margin of 11.7, and they grabbed 17 offensive boards. Every time Louisville seemed intent on making it a game, they'd answer with a 3 or come up with a rebound and putback to stay safely ahead. They shot 48 percent and broke 90 points for the third time in their current streak."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball


Louisville: The Cardinals' bench dominated 35-9 thanks to Adel, who came off the bench to make 8 of 12 from the field. But they couldn't stop Carolina from getting multiple chances at the start and lost the paint battle 42-38. Most importantly, they missed another chance to get their signature win they've sought all season."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

"I told Roy if they shot like that it's going to take a heck of a team to beat them," interim coach David Padgett said. "They seemed to counter every one of our runs with a run." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-louisville.aspx?path=mbball

Syracuse comes into their game with North Carolina with a record of 18-9 and 7-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is coming off a win down in Coral Gables against Miami.

 Junior guard Frank Howard tallied 18 points and six assists and led Syracuse (18-9, 7-7 ACC) men's basketball team to a critical 62-55 victory at rv/rv Miami (18-7, 7-7 ACC) on Saturday. "according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

Freshman forward Oshae Brissett added 16 points and 12 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Tyus Battle and freshman forward Marek Dolezaj added 13 and 11 points each, respectively."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

Chris Lykes had a team-best 14 points and four assists to lead Miami. Lonnie Walker was the only other Hurricane to score in double figures adding 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field. "according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

Coach Boeheim Said
"Everybody in this league is good. It doesn't matter where you play or who you play, it's a tough game. To come on the road and win, obviously, is big."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

"I thought Oshae [Brissett] was great tonight and Frank [Howard]. Tyus [Battle] had an off game, but he's going to make that shot at the end -- he's made them all year -- And that was the game, I thought. Between Marek's (Dolezaj) two and then that three." "according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

How it was Decided
With 1:52 left in the contest, a layup by Lykes narrowed Syracuse's advantage to 54-41 and kept Miami's hopes alive. Battle answered on the next possession with a 3-pointer. When Miami scored again, the Orange turned to Battle again, who provided a free throw after being fouled. Two free throws by Sam Waardenburg with 25 seconds left pulled the Hurricanes within three again, 58-55, and allowed Miami to set its full-court press. The hosts fouled Dolejah with 19 ticks left and he responded with two free throws. Battle iced the contest with two more from the charity stripe with nine seconds remaining."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx


Game Summary
Battle gave 'Cuse its first lead of the game when he scored on back-to-back possessions to provide the Orange a 7-5 advantage. Brissett capped off a 9-3 Syracuse run with a dunk to give the Orange an 11-8 lead at the first media timeout."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

Miami's Lykes made it a one-possession game, 16-13, with six minutes to play in the first half, but Brissett answered with a layup to make it 18-13.  "according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

A 7-0 run by the Hurricanes gave Miami its first lead since the opening minutes of the game, 21-20, with 2:06 to play. The game was tied at 25 at halftime."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

It was all Brissett in the first half as the first-year forward led all scorers with nine points and seven rebounds while going 4-for-9 from the field. The Orange shot 36.7 percent and held Miami to 32.0 percent from the floor (8-for-25). 'Cuse maintained the lead for 11:22 in the first half and led by as many as seven with 8:02 to go in the half. "according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

Miami scored first to begin the second frame but a 15-0 run by the Orange gave Syracuse its first double-figure lead of the game at 15:37, 38-28. After a more than five-minute drought for the Hurricanes, Miami stormed back with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to six, 40-34, with just under 12 minutes left. 'Cuse extended its lead back to nine with a 3-pointer from Brissett at 11:43 but Miami answered with a trey of its own by Newton which sparked a 9-0 run to tie the game at 43 with 9:16 to go."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

A layup by Brissett at 8:42 ended a 15-3 Miami run and gave the Orange the lead back. Syracuse was able to hold off a late push by the Canes to win by seven, 62-55."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

The Orange shot 63.6 percent (14-for-22) from the field in the second half and held Miami to 35.3 percent and just 25 percent from 3-point range."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

Numbers of Note
Syracuse's 15-0 run in the second half was the team's best since a 18-0 stretch against Texas Southern in November."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

Brissett had his 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field (7-for-14). "according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

Howard had a game-high 18 points, 12 of which he scored in the second half of the game."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/17/mens-basketball-orange-earn-critical-road-win-in-miami.aspx

Tip-off is set for 7:00pm from the Carrier Dome. The game will be televised on ESPN. "according to http://goheels.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball