University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Syracuse
February 21, 2018 | Men's Basketball
By Bobby Hundley
Syracuse (Cuse.com)
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Rankings: SU - No. 45 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 7 KenPom, No. 10 AP
Records: SU - 18-9, 7-7 ACC; UNC - 21-7, 10-5 ACC
RPI/SOS: SU - 38/29; UNC - 5/4
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 9-4 (UNC 85, Syracuse 68, Jan. 16, 2017, Smith Center)
A double-OT loss at Florida State on Jan. 13 capped a brutal first fortnight of ACC play for Syracuse, one that saw the Orange fall to 12-6 and 1-4 in the league. Since then, Cuse has won six of nine, including its two best road wins of the year - at Louisville on Feb. 5 and at Miami last Saturday. Now at 7-7 in conference and firmly entrenched in the middle of the ACC standings, Syracuse faces a tough closing stretch that could be the difference between the NCAA tournament and a second straight NIT appearance.
With nagging injuries limiting reserves Matthew Moyer, Bourama Sidibe and Howard Washington, Jim Boeheim has had to lean heavily on his starting five. Three of those five - Tyus Battle, Oshae Brissett and Frank Howard - rank in the top 10 nationally in percentage of minutes played. Battle deserves special recognition, having played 563 of a possible 570 minutes in ACC games for an average of 40.2 minutes per outing.Â
The workload doesn't seem to be bothering Battle, however, as the 6-6 sophomore has emerged as one of the top scoring guards in the league. After averaging just 11.3 points per game as a freshman, Battle is pouring in nearly 20 a night as the Orange's top option. While not a particularly accurate outside shooter (32.6 percent from 3), Battle gets to the rim and to the foul line while protecting the ball. In recent back-to-back wins over Louisville and Wake Forest, he was 22 of 24 from the foul line with just two total turnovers.
Howard's development into a reliable point guard has been another key to Syracuse's success in 2018. After starting throughout the non-conference portion of the schedule last season, Howard's minutes lagged after the calendar turned to 2017 - he played just one minute in the loss to Carolina. This year, however, has been a breakthrough campaign for the 6-5 junior. In ACC games, Howard ranks seventh in assist rate and eighth in steal percentage and his shooting numbers, while still not great, are way up over his career averages.
Brissett, the 6-8 freshman, has been one of the best newcomers in the league. The Canadian power forward can score from all over the floor and is Syracuse's top defensive rebounder by a wide margin. His work on the boards will be key against Carolina, as the Orange ranks 13th in the ACC in rebounding its opponents' misses. One thing Brissett, Howard and Battle all do well is get to the line - Cuse leads the ACC and ranks 18th nationally in free throw rate.Â
As usual with a Boeheim team, the zone defense leads to tons of deflections (No. 2 nationally in block percentage, No. 9 in steal percentage). Junior Paschal Chukwu (7-foot-2) and freshman Marek Dolezaj (6-10) round out the starting lineup and give the Orange plenty of length along with the 6-10 Sidibe. In fact, Cuse ranks No. 1 nationally in KenPom's average height metric.
At 38 in the RPI and 29 in the official NCAA strength of schedule, Syracuse is living in bubble land with four regular season games to go. While the final stretch is challenging, it also provides ample opportunity to bank important resume-boosting wins. Cuse has three Quadrant 1 wins to its credit - the aforementioned Miami and Louisville victories plus a sneaky good win over Buffalo (RPI 29). Whether or not they can add to that column against Carolina, Duke or Clemson prior to Brooklyn will go a long way toward sealing their fate, one way or the other.
Syracuse (Cuse.com)
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Rankings: SU - No. 45 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 7 KenPom, No. 10 AP
Records: SU - 18-9, 7-7 ACC; UNC - 21-7, 10-5 ACC
RPI/SOS: SU - 38/29; UNC - 5/4
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 9-4 (UNC 85, Syracuse 68, Jan. 16, 2017, Smith Center)
A double-OT loss at Florida State on Jan. 13 capped a brutal first fortnight of ACC play for Syracuse, one that saw the Orange fall to 12-6 and 1-4 in the league. Since then, Cuse has won six of nine, including its two best road wins of the year - at Louisville on Feb. 5 and at Miami last Saturday. Now at 7-7 in conference and firmly entrenched in the middle of the ACC standings, Syracuse faces a tough closing stretch that could be the difference between the NCAA tournament and a second straight NIT appearance.
With nagging injuries limiting reserves Matthew Moyer, Bourama Sidibe and Howard Washington, Jim Boeheim has had to lean heavily on his starting five. Three of those five - Tyus Battle, Oshae Brissett and Frank Howard - rank in the top 10 nationally in percentage of minutes played. Battle deserves special recognition, having played 563 of a possible 570 minutes in ACC games for an average of 40.2 minutes per outing.Â
The workload doesn't seem to be bothering Battle, however, as the 6-6 sophomore has emerged as one of the top scoring guards in the league. After averaging just 11.3 points per game as a freshman, Battle is pouring in nearly 20 a night as the Orange's top option. While not a particularly accurate outside shooter (32.6 percent from 3), Battle gets to the rim and to the foul line while protecting the ball. In recent back-to-back wins over Louisville and Wake Forest, he was 22 of 24 from the foul line with just two total turnovers.
Howard's development into a reliable point guard has been another key to Syracuse's success in 2018. After starting throughout the non-conference portion of the schedule last season, Howard's minutes lagged after the calendar turned to 2017 - he played just one minute in the loss to Carolina. This year, however, has been a breakthrough campaign for the 6-5 junior. In ACC games, Howard ranks seventh in assist rate and eighth in steal percentage and his shooting numbers, while still not great, are way up over his career averages.
Brissett, the 6-8 freshman, has been one of the best newcomers in the league. The Canadian power forward can score from all over the floor and is Syracuse's top defensive rebounder by a wide margin. His work on the boards will be key against Carolina, as the Orange ranks 13th in the ACC in rebounding its opponents' misses. One thing Brissett, Howard and Battle all do well is get to the line - Cuse leads the ACC and ranks 18th nationally in free throw rate.Â
As usual with a Boeheim team, the zone defense leads to tons of deflections (No. 2 nationally in block percentage, No. 9 in steal percentage). Junior Paschal Chukwu (7-foot-2) and freshman Marek Dolezaj (6-10) round out the starting lineup and give the Orange plenty of length along with the 6-10 Sidibe. In fact, Cuse ranks No. 1 nationally in KenPom's average height metric.
At 38 in the RPI and 29 in the official NCAA strength of schedule, Syracuse is living in bubble land with four regular season games to go. While the final stretch is challenging, it also provides ample opportunity to bank important resume-boosting wins. Cuse has three Quadrant 1 wins to its credit - the aforementioned Miami and Louisville victories plus a sneaky good win over Buffalo (RPI 29). Whether or not they can add to that column against Carolina, Duke or Clemson prior to Brooklyn will go a long way toward sealing their fate, one way or the other.
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