Syracuse looks to even the score with North Carolina

Saturday afternoon, Syracuse will face off with #16 North Carolina for the second time in less than three weeks. It was not a good first meeting for the Orange (15-12, 6-8 ACC), who trailed by as many as 32 points in the second half before a furious rally made for a more respectable 87-77 loss to the Tar Heels (20-6, 8-5).

There is one big difference between then and now for UNC, as top freshman Caleb Wilson suffered a fracture in his left (non-shooting) hand on February 10 and has missed the last three games. Tar Heel coach Hubert Davis expects the star forward to return soon, but no official word has been given as to Wilson’s status.

The Tar Heels are also trying to push through a second "big" injury

Starting center Henri Veesaar also missed Carolina’s last two games, leaving the squad without their two top scorers on the season. Wilson and Veesaar were a dominant tandem in the first meeting, combing for 30 points and 20 rebounds in the Tar Heels’ win. Veesaar is believed to be closer to a return than Wilson, which would help UNC greatly, as his height is a dimension lacking in the SU rotation.

With that duo shelved, junior forward Jarin Stevenson has stepped up, leading the team in scoring twice in three games while averaging 15.0 points per game, including 19 in North Carolina’s win over Pitt last Saturday.

The return of Veesaar and Wilson would fill out the Heels’ combination of size and athleticism that earned a lot of whistles in the first game. The Orange committed 24 fouls, their second-highest number in a contest on the season. Nate Kingz and William Kyle III both fouled out of that first meeting, while Naithan George and Sadiq White Jr. were each whistled four times.

The Tar Heels were an extremely difficult opponent to slow down that night, as they shot 54.3 percent in building their giant lead before taking their foot off the gas and coasting to the finish. They also owned a 41-31 rebounding advantage in the game, a margin befitting the two teams’ work on the glass this season.

The Orange had multiple issues in the first meeting, including some that have been recent trends

Syracuse’s defensive rebounding struggles have only become more pronounced as the season has gone on, as they have allowed six of their last eight opponents to post an offensive rebounding rate of at least 33.3 percent with four grabbing at least 40 percent of all potential offensive boards. Carolina, of course, is one of those six teams.

The Orange also did not do anything exceptional on offense during the first meeting other than not turning the ball over. However, that did not help result in any exceptional results, as SU shot just under 50 percent on 2-point field goals and made just one-third of their 3’s.

Syracuse will need a better offensive plan that just trying to use screens to force switches and create positive matchups. It did not work for most of the first meeting and it has been an issue for the Orange this season when facing teams with great size and athleticism.

While Wilson’s absence would be a plus for SU, it will not be a cure-all. A total of seven players scored at least seven points in the earlier matchup, so their offensive depth should be able to survive a shorter rotation.

The game also switches its venue to the JMA Wireless Dome, which should move things a little more in favor of the hosts. The questions on both ends of the court are still there, though, and even being on their homecourt may not be enough for the Orange.

North Carolina 76, Syracuse 72.

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