Syracuse Falls at North Carolina as Tar Heels Dominate the Orange Inside

Syracuse trimmed North Carolina's lead to just one with 1:42 to play on an Alan Griffin jumper. From there, the Orange gave up two offensive rebounds and turned it over three times as North Carolina made the plays down the stretch to pull out an 81-75 victory.

The offensive rebounds were a problem all game for Syracuse, as North Carolina had a 24-10 advantage in that area. That turned into a 24-4 edge for the Tar Heels in second chance points. Overall, North Carolina 48-31 in rebounding and 42-24 in points in the paint. The size of North Carolina was too much all game long, and that was the difference in the outcome.

Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot combined for 31 points and 22 rebounds as Syracuse could not find an answer for either. Bacot had seven offensive rebounds by himself.

Syracuse stayed in the game by holding North Carolina to just 5-24 (21%) from three point range while the Orange made 10 from beyond the arc themselves. Syracuse shot better overall, 47% to 40%, but North Carolina had 13 more shot attempts thanks to their offensive rebounding prowess. The Tar Heels also had 11 more free throw attempts than Syracuse despite being called for one more foul.

Quincy Guerrier led Syracuse with a game high 23 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks on 9-18 shooting. He fouled out with 1:22 remaining, however. Buddy Boeheim had 18 points, four assists and three rebounds, but was held scoreless in the second half. Boeheim carried the Orange in the first half, helping erase a 10 point Tar Heels lead to tie the game at halftime.

North Carolina came out hot in the second half, starting on a 9-0 run. Syracuse would battle back, even taking a lead with 3:21 remaining. Ultimately they did not have enough inside to keep the Tar Heels off of the offensive glass and out of the paint.

Alan Griffin put in 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots, but he turned it over six times. The Orange had 10 of their 14 turnovers in the second half.

Kadary Richmond played 16 minutes off of the bench and finished with two points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Robert Braswell played 10 minutes and added four points along with two rebounds.

The loss drops Syracuse to 7-3 (1-2) on the season. They are next in action on Saturday at Pittsburgh. In the previous matchup, Syracuse squandered an 18 point lead and lost by three to the Panthers.