UNC Uses Offensive Rebounds to Power 81-75 Victory Over Syracuse

The UNC men’s basketball team made it three victories in a row on Tuesday, using a strong performance on the offensive glass and double-doubles from senior Garrison Brooks and sophomore Armando Bacot to power through Syracuse 81-75.

Playing against a tough 2-3 zone defense on a four-day notice after the Tar Heels’ scheduled game against Clemson was postponed, Carolina relied on balanced scoring from the roster to jump out to a 10-point lead in the first half. But hot shooting from junior guard Buddy Boeheim sent the Orange to the locker room tied at halftime.

The game of runs continued, with both teams seeing offensive droughts and spurts in the second half. When the Tar Heels scored, they largely relied on second-chance points. Bacot was the driving force on the offensive glass, with 7 of his 12 rebounds coming off of missed shots. Brooks, the pre-season ACC Player of the Year, recorded his first double-double of the season thanks to a pair of offensive boards, with Carolina totaling 24 compared to Syracuse’s 21 defensive rebounds.

Brooks’ flow on the offensive end of the court came as he orchestrated UNC from the free throw line in the middle of the Orange’s zone defense. One of those plays came after UNC took a slim lead with three minutes to go. Brooks passed to a cutting Leaky Black, who tallied his team-high seventh assist by passing to Bacot for a layup and foul to put Carolina up 73-70.

After the game, Black said he feels comfortable playing the role as a distributor, despite coming up with key buckets in the Tar Heels’ previous win against Miami.

“Before I got here, I played point guard my entire life and I feel like that side of the game comes easy to me,” said the junior wing. “I’ll try to take R.J. and Caleb under my wing, [since] I played point guard last year and I kind of know what coach wants.”

UNC iced the game with free throws and a handful of unforced errors from the Orange, a change for a team that has struggled both at the line and taking care of the ball themselves. Head coach Roy Williams said the teams several close finishes prepared them well for Tuesday night, with his team putting together one of its most complete endings.

“We’ve talked all season about finishing games with our brain and our heart, both,” said Williams. “I think we did that [tonight.]”

With three straight conference wins, the Heels will look to continue building on their momentum as they prepare for a flurry of games to end January before a February full of ranked opponents. Black said Tuesday he believes the team isn’t far off from performing at their best level to compete with that upper echelon in the conference.

“We’re right there,” he said. “Even though we haven’t been winning as pretty as some of our fans would like, I feel like getting these [wins] under our belt says a lot about this team. I feel like we really getting better and we’re right there, we just need to keep striving.”

NOTES:

UNC had only 11 turnovers compared to Syracuse’s 14. This is the 5th game out of Carolina’s 12 where they have fewer turnovers than their opponents.
The Tar Heels’ 18 total assists is the second-most in a game this season, with the most being 20 tallied during their loss to Iowa.
Freshman point guard R.J. Davis scored 12 points, which included two 3-pointers. Carolina’s loss against Iowa is the last time Davis hit more than one 3-pointer in a game and the last time he’s scored as many as 12 points.

UP NEXT:

UNC (8-4) is slated to face Florida State in Tallahassee on Saturday, January 16 at 12 p.m.

Photo via ACC Media.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

UNC Uses Offensive Rebounds to Power 81-75 Victory Over Syracuse

On Air Now: 97.9 FM