No. 6 UNC expects to have Meeks back for Syracuse trip

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) North Carolina coach Roy Williams says he expects injured big man Kennedy Meeks to play for the first time in four weeks.

Williams said Friday that Meeks went through portions of practice the previous two days. The coach says, ''I fully expect that he'll play, but I don't know how much or how effective'' he will be against Syracuse on Saturday night.

The 6-foot-9, 260-pound Meeks has been out since mid-December with a bone bruise in his left knee. He averaged 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds in nine games for the sixth-ranked Tar Heels (14-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).