University of North Carolina Athletics
Senior Night Vs. Syracuse On Monday
February 29, 2016 | Men's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
♦ North Carolina (23-6, 12-4 ACC) will look to bounce back from its 79-74 loss at Virginia when it hosts Syracuse (19-10, 9-7) on Senior Night on Monday in Chapel Hill.
♦ The Tar Heels and Orange will tip off at 7:01 p.m. in the Smith Center.
♦ Sean McDonough (play-by-play) and Doris Burke (analyst) will call the game for an ESPN Big Monday national TV audience (also online with WatchESPN).
TAR HEEL STORYLINES
♦ Carolina enters the game tied atop the ACC standings with Miami with a 12-4 mark in conference play. Virginia and Louisville are tied for third place at 11-5, Duke was 10-5 prior to its Sunday game at Pitt and Notre Dame is 10-6.
♦ Monday will mark the final home games for Tar Heel seniors Justin Coleman, Spenser Dalton, Toby Egbuna, Joel James, Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige.
♦ Carolina was ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press poll and No. 6 in the coaches' poll last week. Syracuse was unranked in both polls. The new polls will be released on Monday afternoon.
UP NEXT
♦ After Monday's final home game, Carolina will complete its 2015-16 regular season on Saturday night at Duke.
A TAR HEEL WIN WOULD ...
♦ Improve UNC to 24-6, 13-4 ACC in 2015-16.
♦ Make UNC 15-1 in the Smith Center in 2015-16 and 378-68 there in 31 seasons overall.
♦ Complete a 2015-16 season series sweep over the Orange.
♦ Give Carolina its third win in a row over Syracuse.
♦ Improve UNC to 2-0 against Syracuse in Chapel Hill.
♦ Make Williams 4-4 as a head coach against Syracuse, including 3-2 at UNC.
♦ Improve Williams' career record as a head coach to 774-208 overall.
♦ Make Williams 356-107 at Carolina.
A TAR HEEL LOSS WOULD ...
♦ Drop Carolina to 23-7, 12-5 ACC.
♦ Make UNC 14-2 in the Smith Center this season and 377-69 in the arena overall.
♦ Mark Syracuse's first win in Chapel Hill in its second game at UNC.
♦ Drop Roy Williams' career record to 773-209 overall.
♦ Make Williams 355-108 at Carolina.
TAR HEEL TIDBITS
TEAM NOTES
♦ UNC's defense has allowed only one opponent to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor this season (Maryland at .508 on Dec. 1).
♦ The Tar Heels have held 18 consecutive opponents to under 45 percent in field goal percentage.
♦ Carolina is 3-3 vs. ranked opponents this season (wins over Maryland, UCLA and Miami and losses to Louisville, Duke and Virginia). The Tar Heels are 66-54 against ranked foes under Roy Williams.
♦ Carolina has won 12 or more ACC regular-season games nine times in Roy Williams' 13 years as UNC's head coach. (The Tar Heels have won 13 or more six times and 14 games four times under Williams.)
♦ Close Losses: Carolina's six losses this year have been by a total of 22 points (four at UNI, two at Texas, six at Louisville, four at Notre Dame, one vs. Duke and five at Virginia).
♦ Assist-Turnover Ratio: Carolina's assist-to-turnover ratio (1.70) ranks third in the nation and is the best of any Tar Heel team since turnovers were first recorded in 1981-82. The second-best figure is 1.53 in 1985-86. Other top-five seasons include 1.45 (2008-09), 1.45 (2011-12) and 1.42 (1997-98).
♦ UNC has three of the top 10 players in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio in Justin Jackson (third at 3.17), Marcus Paige (fifth at 3.00), and Joel Berry II (seventh at 2.40). No other school has more than one player in the top 10.
♦ Cutting Down on Turnovers: UNC is averaging 10.83 turnovers per game, the lowest figure of any Carolina team since turnovers were first recorded in 1981-82. Last year, the Tar Heels averaged nearly 13 turnovers per contest.
♦ There have been seven seasons in which UNC has committed fewer than 13 turnovers per game. The current record was set in 2013-14 (11.94 per game). The other seasons below 13 are 2011-12 (11.95), 2012-13 (12.3), 2008-09 (12.4), 1994-95 (12.9) and 1981-82 (12.9).
♦ Shooting 50 Percent: UNC is 16-1 this year when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor.
♦ Carolina shot 52.9 percent in the first half and 55.3 percent in the second half vs. Miami. That was the eighth time this season and the fourth time in ACC play UNC shot 50 percent or better from the floor in both halves.
♦ The Tar Heels have shot 50 percent or better in the second half of 28 of their last 39 games (including 19 of 29 games in 2015-16).
♦ Carolina is 171-16 under Roy Williams when its opponents shoot under 40 percent.
♦ UNC's three-point percentage of 32.0 would be the lowest in school history if the season were to end today. The current low is 32.8 percent, set in 2010-11.
♦ 80 or More: Carolina has scored 80 or more points in 20 of 29 games and is averaging 83.4 ppg this season.
♦ The Tar Heels are 232-28 in 13 seasons under Roy Williams when they score at least 80 points (19-1 this season).
♦ 90 or More: The Tar Heels have scored 90 or more points eight times his season after doing so five times all of last year.
♦ 100 or More: UNC is 49-1 under Williams when it scores 100 points or more.
♦ 25-Point Games: No Tar Heel player scored 25 points in a game last season, but the team has had eight 25-point performances already this year by four different players: Justin Jackson (25 vs. Northern Iowa), Kennedy Meeks (25 vs. Temple), Marcus Paige (30 at Florida State) and Brice Johnson five times (25 vs. Tulane, 27 vs. UCLA, 39 at Florida State, 27 vs. Wake Forest and 29 vs. Duke).
♦ In the NCAA stats: The Tar Heels are ninth in the nation in scoring at 83.4 points per game, 14th in scoring margin at 12.9, third with an assist-turnover ratio of 1.70, fifth with 18.4 assists per game, 17th in rebounding margin (7.8) and 21st in field goal percentage (48.3).
♦ KenPom Ratings: Carolina is ranked No. 5 in the nation in the KenPom.com statistical rankings. UNC is fifth in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (120.4) and 39th in adjusted defensive efficiency (96.1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
♦ Roy Williams has won 355 games at Carolina, the fourth-most wins all-time by an ACC coach. Gary Williams is third with 461 at Maryland.
♦ Williams is 773-208 as a head coach, including 355-107 at Carolina, 153-61 in ACC regular-season games, 384-44 at home and 182-27 in the Smith Center.
♦ Brice Johnson has scored 25 or more points five times this season. That's the most 25-point games in a season since Marcus Paige had five in 2014. The last Tar Heel with more than five 25-point games in a season was Tyler Hansbrough, who had 10 such efforts in 2009. Johnson has scored 39 at Florida State, 29 vs. Duke, 27 vs. UCLA and Wake Forest and 25 vs. Tulane.
♦ Johnson leads the ACC with 17 double-doubles this season. He had 10 in 108 games in his first three seasons.
♦ Johnson has led UNC in scoring 13 times and in rebounding 20 times this season. Both figures lead the team.
♦ Johnson is eighth in the ACC in scoring (16.9 ppg), first in rebounding (10.4 rpg) and first in field goal percentage (61.6). He also leads the conference in defensive rebounding (7.76 per game).
♦ Johnson has five games this season with 15 or more rebounds. He's the first Tar Heel to accomplish that since John Henson in 2010-11. The last Tar Heel to have six 15+ rebound games was Sean May in 2004-05.
♦ Johnson has 922 career rebounds, 10th in UNC history. Rusty Clark is ninth with 929 and Eric Montross is eighth with 941.
♦ Johnson has 1,527 career points, 27th in school history. J.R. Reid is 26th with 1,552 and Jeff Lebo is 25th with 1,567.
♦ Johnson is averaging a team-high and career-high 16.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game this season. His previous career highs were 12.9 ppg and 7.8 rpg last season.
♦ Joel Berry II scored a career-high 21 points and hit a career-high five three-pointers at Virginia on Feb. 27.
♦ Berry has the third-highest scoring increase in the ACC this season (+8.0 ppg) behind Duke's Grayson Allen and N.C. State's Cat Barber.
♦ Berry has stepped into a starting role this season and improved across the board statistically, including scoring (4.2 to 12.2 ppg), field goal percentage (40.4 to 41.9), three-point percentage (35.4 to 38.1) and assists (1.5 to 3.9 per game).
♦ Berry has scored in double figures in 18 of the last 20 games and 24 of 29 contests this season. As a freshman he scored in double figures one time.
♦ Berry leads UNC with 44 steals and is seventh in the ACC at 1.52 per game.
♦ Marcus Paige has scored 1,700 points, 18th in Carolina history. Rick Fox is 17th with 1,703, Billy Cunningham is 16th with 1,709 and Rashad McCants is 15th with 1,721.
♦ Paige is the ACC's top active career scorer with 1,700 points and Brice Johnson is fourth with 1,527.
♦ Paige has 555 assists, 10th in school history. Jeff Lebo is ninth with 580.
♦ Paige is the only Tar Heel and one of four players in ACC history with at least 1,500 points, 500 assists, 350 rebounds, 250 three-pointers and 175 steals. The other ACC players to reach those threshholds are Travis Best of Georgia Tech, Malcolm Delaney of Virginia Tech and Jason Williams of Duke.
♦ Paige is one of four Tar Heels with 1,500 career points and 500 career assists (joining Phil Ford, Jeff Lebo and Kenny Smith).
♦ Paige made three three-pointers vs. Virginia to extend his career school record to 271.
♦ Justin Jackson is shooting 45 for 79 (.570) in the last eight games.
♦ Jackson has scored in double figures in six straight games and seven of the last eight.
♦ Jackson is 10 for 19 (.526) from three-point range in the last six games.
♦ Junior walk-on guard Kanler Coker broke a bone in his right hand in practice on Feb. 24, a day prior to the win at N.C. State. Doctors expect Coker to miss three to four weeks of action as a result.
PREVIEWING THE ORANGE
♦ Syracuse enters Monday night's game with a 19-10 overall record, 9-7 in the ACC.
♦ Syracuse has won six of its last eight outings, including a 75-66 home win over North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon.
♦ In the KenPom.com adjusted efficiency ratings, Syracuse ranks No. 42 overall, including No. 74 offensively (109.4) and No. 39 defensively (96.2).
SERIES HISTORY
♦ Carolina leads the all-time series between the Tar Heels and Syracuse, 6-4. Carolina has won the last two meetings, including a win in Chapel Hill last year and a victory in the Carrier Dome this season on Jan. 9.
♦ The Tar Heels are 1-0 at home vs. Syracuse with a win in 2014-15.
♦ Two years ago, Syracuse beat UNC 57-45 in the Carrier Dome on Jan. 11, 2014.
♦ The only meeting other between Carolina and Syracuse since Nov. 1987 came on Nov. 20, 2009. It was the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Orange seized control of what had been a close game to win 87-71.
♦ In the meeting on Nov. 21, 1987, Carolina beat Syracuse 96-93 in overtime in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass. Freshman Pete Chilcutt started the game and posted 14 points and 13 rebounds while hitting a jumpshot at the buzzer to force overtime.
♦ In a scheduling quirk, UNC played Syracuse in back-to-back games — the last game of the 1986-87 season and the first game of the 1987-88 campaign.
♦ Syracuse beat Carolina in the 1987 (East Regional final) and 1975 (East Regional semifinal) NCAA Tournaments.
♦ In addition to UNC's win in the 1987 Tip-Off Classic, Carolina also beat Syracuse in the 1957 NCAA Tournament (East Regional final), the 1982-83 regular season in Charlotte and the 1983-84 regular season in Syracuse.
♦ Roy Williams is 3-4 as a head coach against Syracuse, including a 1-2 record at Kansas and a 2-2 mark at UNC.
