The Tar Heels had a nice glass of orange juice with their early-afternoon basketball game.
Carolina had no trouble with visiting Syracuse at the Smith Center on Saturday, opening up a 27-point lead in the first half and never looking back in a 103-67 rout. UNC is still undefeated in ACC play at 5-0.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/0x9NMMP2wx
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 13, 2024
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball,” said Harrison Ingram, who posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. “These are my best friends in the world. We play hard. We play with energy. We hate to lose.”
R.J. Davis led all scorers with 22 points, his 10th game this season with at least 20. Davis shot 4-6 on three-pointers to record his 13th straight game with multiple threes made, tied for second most in school history. Justin Jackson holds the record with 15. Davis also tied a career high with five steals on the day. Carolina recorded a season-high 13 steals as a team, its most since the 2018-19 season.
“His ability to get steals and deflections, but defend without fouling, has been huge,” head coach Hubert Davis said of R.J. Davis’ performance. “Such growth in that area… he’s our leader.”
The Tar Heels shot 19-37 (51.4 percent) in a dominating first half, leading 45-18 at one point and taking a 52-30 lead into the locker room. It was Carolina’s largest halftime lead against an ACC opponent since a 38-point advantage against Florida State in 2022, and also its first half shooting 50 percent or better against an ACC opponent all season.
Syracuse, on the other hand, lagged behind at just 9-31 (29 percent). It was Carolina’s third consecutive half – and fourth in the last six – in which the Tar Heels have held an opponent to under 30 percent from the floor.
“The guys now are able to see the benefit of [defense],” said Davis. “You can talk about it… but once you do that, and you see the benefit as a team and individually – like more playing time – I think guys are like, ‘This is nice!'”
The Orange made a brief comeback attempt early in the second half, cutting the lead to 15 points at 54-39. But after that, it was one-way traffic. Carolina immediately answered with a 10-0 run, and the lead stayed above 20 points for the rest of the afternoon.
“We’ve been in those situations,” Davis said. “One of the things I’m so pleased about is this group doesn’t get rattled easily. In those situations, we can just get back to what we need to do.”
The Tar Heels outrebounded the Orange by 23, despite no player grabbing more than 11 (Bacot). Each player to see time on the floor – all 14 of them – pulled down at least one rebound. Carolina’s 53 boards as a team is a season high, and the team has now outrebounded its last five opponents.
“That’s the main thing we’ve been working on,” said Ingram. “We just take pride in boxing out your man and going to get the ball.”
The 36-point margin of victory is Carolina’s largest ever against Syracuse, and its largest against any ACC opponent since 2021. Its 103 points scored are its most against an ACC opponent since 2019.
With the win, the Tar Heels are now 13-3 overall. The team will be back in action on Wednesday night when it hosts Louisville at the Smith Center at 9 p.m.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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