No. 7 Tar Heels Fall At Syracuse, 86-79

Tuesday, February 13

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 PM

North Carolina

19-6,11-3ACC

Syracuse

16-9,7-7ACC

North Carolina

Syracuse

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

February 13, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Syracuse shot 63 percent from the floor and beat No. 7 North Carolina, 86-79, on Tuesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Judah Mintz scored 25 points and JJ Starling added 23 for the Orange, who improved to 16-9 in 2023-24, including 7-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Carolina lost its third consecutive Tuesday night conference game and fell to 19-6, 11-3.

Syracuse shot 63.0 percent in the first half and 61.9 percent in the second.

It was the first time an opponent shot at least 60 percent in both halves against UNC since Pittsburgh shot 61.3 percent in the first half and 69.2 percent in the second on February 14, 2015.

RJ Davis scored 19 points to lead the Tar Heels. Cormac Ryan scored 18 and tied his season high with four three-pointers. Harrison Ingram (14 points and 11 rebounds) and Armando Bacot (14 and 10) both posted double-doubles.

The Orange led by 10 points in the first half before UNC rallied to tie the score at 42-all at halftime. Ryan scored 13 first-half points, more than he'd scored in any of the previous six games.

Carolina shot 41 percent as a team in the second half, including 5 of 14 from behind the three-point arc.

The Orange made 8 of 17 from three-point range, the highest percentage (.471) by an opponent this season. It was the third time in the last six games an opponent shot better than 40 percent from three (at Florida State, at Georgia Tech and at Syracuse).

How It Happened
First Half
• Syracuse seized the momentum from the start, hitting 12 of its first 19 shots (63.2 percent) while building a 10-point lead at 30-20 in the first 12 minutes of action.
• Back-to-back three-pointers by Ingram gave Carolina a 37-34 lead with 3:59 left in the half.
• The Tar Heels hit 7 of 13 three-point attempts in the first half, including 3 of 6 by Ryan and 2 of 3 by Ingram.
• UNC dished out 12 assists on 15 first-half baskets.
• The Orange shot 63.0 percent in the first half, the best percentage by a UNC opponent to date in any first half this season. The Tar Heels shot 55.6 percent after a slow start, their highest percentage in the first half this season.
• Davis had three points on 1 of 4 shooting in the first half (1 of 3 3FG).

Second Half
• UNC missed its first nine shots of the second half to allow the Orange to retake the lead.
• Davis scored 11 points in the first 12 minutes of the half.
• Syracuse hit 11 of its first 17 shots of the second half (64.7 percent).

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Carolina is 17-7 all-time against Syracuse, including three wins in the last four meetings and 13-4 since the Orange joined the ACC in 2013-14.
• The Tar Heels are 5-3 against Syracuse in the JMA Wireless Dome.
• Carolina is 6-2 on the road this season, all in ACC action.
• Guard Seth Trimble returned to action and had a point and two rebounds after missing two consecutive games with an upper body injury.
• The Tar Heels have out-rebounded their opponents in 14 consecutive games and are 11-3 in those games.

Up Next
Carolina hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Smith Center.

Follow Tar Heel basketball on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.