University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Syracuse
February 29, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Syracuse (Cuse.com)
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Rankings: SU - No. 42 KenPom, NR AP, No. 55 RPI; UNC - No. 5 KenPom, No. 8 AP, No. 9 RPI
Records: SU - 19-10, 9-7 ACC; UNC - 23-6, 12-4 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 6-4 (UNC 84, Syracuse 73, Jan. 9, 2016, Carrier Dome)
It looks like we got a pretty clear answer to the Jim Boeheim question. Syracuse is 9-4 since the venerable head coach returned from suspension. The Orange has wins over Duke, Notre Dame and Florida State in that stretch and may have played its way back into NCAA tournament contention with two games left in the regular season.
'Cuse is still basically a six-man rotation, with Boeheim having utilized the same starting five of Michael Gbinije, Trevor Cooney, Malachi Richardson, Tyler Roberson and DaJuan Coleman in every game this season. That doesn't mean the head coach is happy about it. With Roberson's minutes dwindling, 6-8 freshman Tyler Lydon has become a vital sixth man. He has scored in double figures six times over the last eight games and is a 42 percent shooter from 3 for the season.
Coleman has also seen an increase in court time at Roberson's expense. The senior is the Orange's top shot-blocker and pairs with Lydon to form the squad's best duo on the offensive glass.
Gbinije enters Monday night on fire, coming off an 8-for-13 performance from deep in the win over NC State on Saturday. Richardson has been even better in league play, making a team-best 43.6 percent of his 3s. And of course there's Cooney, who keeps shooting at will despite making just 34 percent from deep in league play. But he could go off at any time and he's scored 28 and 27 in his last two games against UNC.
With another road game to close the regular season, Syracuse has two more chances to get a key resume-building win. But a victory Monday night in Chapel Hill could lock up an at-large bid in a year that has been anything but predictable.
