University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Syracuse
January 16, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Syracuse (Cuse.com)
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Rankings: SU - No. 50 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 6 KenPom, No. 11 AP
Records: SU - 11-7, 3-2 ACC; UNC - 16-3, 4-1 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 8-4 (UNC 83, Syracuse 66, April 2, 2016, NRG Stadium)
A rough start to the 2016-17 season hit rock bottom for Syracuse when the Orange lost 96-81 at Boston College in its ACC opener to drop to 8-6. But Jim Boeheim's squad has responded impressively, winning three of four including a dominant 23-point victory in the rematch with BC. So the questions are these - is this the start of a season-changing run like last year's 8-1 stretch that saved a Final Four campaign or is it a false dawn in the face of an intimidating ACC schedule?
Boeheim's vaunted zone defense is all about disrupting passing lanes and forcing opponents into settling for outside shots. And in those categories, the zone has been wildly successful again this year. An incredible 44.3 percent of field goals attempted against Syracuse have been 3s, more than all but 13 teams in the country. The Orange have also been very adept at deflecting balls - they rank fourth nationally in block percentage and 13th in steal percentage. It's no coincidence that Cuse represents the second straight UNC opponent to rank in the top 10 in the country in average height.
While Syracuse returned a solid core from last year including All-America candidate Tyler Lydon, a trio of newcomers has had a big impact. Freshman Tyus Battle is the team's best outside shooter (35 of 78, 45 percent), while 6-10 classmate Taurean Thompson has emerged as a go-to scorer in the post. The team's top newcomer, however, is graduate transfer Andrew White. White, who started his career at Kansas before transferring to Nebraska, leads the Orange in scoring with 15.8 points per contest.
Lydon continues to be a lethal inside-outside threat in his second season. The 6-9 center has made 42 percent of his 3s and 79 percent of his free throws while also being an effective shot-blocker and defensive rebounder. Senior Tyler Roberson teams with Lydon in a thin Cuse frontcourt, which has been without DaJuan Coleman (chronic knee pain) and Paschal Chukwu (eye surgery) in league play. While the Orange have been fairly successful on the offensive glass, they have struggled on the other end. Opponents are currently rebounding 33.2 percent of their misses, which puts 'Cuse outside the top 300 nationally on the defensive boards.
Carolina got the best of Syracuse three times in 2016, including in the Final Four. With an RPI of 149 entering last weekend and only one top-50 KenPom win, the Orange will need to maintain its positive momentum to have a shot at repeating its Cinderella run in March.
