Orange get a statement win over North Carolina

Pandemonium doesn’t do it justice.

North Carolina players stood emotionless as the JMA Wireless Dome seats quickly emptied with fans running onto the court Tuesday night after Syracuse’s 86-79 win over the Tar Heels.

For North Carolina, not much more could be done; UNC shot over 44% from three and outrebounded SU by eight, but Syracuse simply made its shots. 

The Orange finished with a 62.5 field goal percentage, the first time UNC has allowed an opponent to shoot more than 60% since 2015. 

The backcourt tandem of sophomore guards Judah Mintz and J.J. Starling led SU, scoring 25 and 23 points respectively. 

Much of the game was a shootout between the two sides, with neither team willing to stop scoring. It wasn’t until late turnovers handed SU free possessions that the game was decided.

A Cormac Ryan three started the scoring, quickly answered by a corner three courtesy of sophomore forward Chris Bell. However, SU’s deep-range scoring ran primarily through an unlikely shooter early on. 

Sophomore forward Maliq Brown hit two threes from the top of the arc within the first five minutes, much to the delight of the home crowd. His sharpshooting forced UNC center Armando Bacot to guard the perimeter – leaving the paint accessible to drives from Starling and Mintz. 

Throughout the first half, the Orange limited one of their opponent’s greatest strengths — offensive rebounding.

Despite Bacot’s attempts to knock the ball up and out of SU’s paint, Syracuse prevented second-chance opportunities.

Defense turned to offense, as an athletic layup from sophomore guard Quadir Copeland put the Orange up 21-11, giving SU its largest lead of the game. The Orange looked dangerous, but the Tar Heels quickly erased their deficit.

UNC shot the lights out from deep early on, and two threes from Jalen Washington and R.J. Davis cut the lead to just one point. Another three from Harrison Ingram gave the Tar Heels a 37-34 lead. 

Before things could get out of hand, Starling nailed a pair of mid-range jumpers to tie the game with just under a minute left in the first half. The teams went into the tunnel tied at 42.

For most of the second half, the scoring could be summarized using Newton’s third law of motion: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

A Mintz jumper was answered by a Ryan three-pointer. A make from Davis was rebutted by a layup from Bell. It wasn’t until Starling hit a circus shot – banking the ball off the backboard from 40 feet as the shot clock expired – that Syracuse began to pull away.

“I just turned around and put my hands up…that was a big-time shot,” Copeland said of the basket. 

The shot put SU in the lead, 67-65, and as Starling jogged back on defense, he couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Once I hit that, it kinda felt like the momentum swung in our favor,” Starling said. 

From that point on, it was Syracuse’s game to lose. Three consecutive scoring plays from Mintz put the Orange up 73-67. The sophomore did not miss a field goal attempt in the second half.

“We didn’t have an answer for (Mintz),” North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis said during his postgame press conference. 

As crucial as Mintz and Starling’s offensive output was, it was Copeland who sealed the victory. The guard forced three late turnovers, ripping the ball – and the game – out of the Tar Heels’ hands.

“I’m built for those moments … I got active hands,” Copeland said. “At the end of the day you’re not gonna be able to put the ball on the floor,” he said.  

Copeland’s third steal came with 30 seconds left in the contest, swiping the ball away from Cormac Ryan, who then subsequently fouled him. One out of two made free throws later, Davis chucked up a desperation three that was rebounded by SU and quickly passed to Mintz.

It wasn’t long after the final buzzer sounded that Jim Boeheim Court was flooded with Syracuse students, swarming Orange and Tar Heel players alike.

The win gives Syracuse its first victory over a top-10 ranked opponent since 2019 – against fellow North Carolina school Duke. In an up-and-down first season as head coach, Adrian Autry reflected on what the win meant for his team.

“I’m proud of these guys,” Autry said. “They compete every day and we’ve had some tough losses this year, so to have this one … I’m just happy for these guys.”

Syracuse has a short break to celebrate this win before taking on Georgia Tech on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.