A late night showdown between ACC rivals ended in heartbreak for the Syracuse Orange, as they fell to UNC 72-68. With the win last night, UNC has now won three of their last five matchups against the Orange.
What had fans talking the most was the seemingly lopsided officiating. UNC was awarded 23 free throws, whereas Syracuse went to the charity stripe just three times. This proved to be especially consequential in the final seconds of the game, during which pure chaos ensued.
Judah Mintz eventually fouled out of the game, but it was his fifth foul that would ultimately ice the game for the Tarheels. In an effort to protect the basketball as he drove to the rim, Mintz’s elbow clipped UNC’s RJ Davis in the face. Davis left the floor holding his jaw, sending Caleb Love to the free throw line in his place.
As Syracuse fans voiced their frustration with the game’s officiating crew, Love knocked down both his free throws to put his team up four. Syracuse was unable to recover.
Mintz’s game-deciding foul was just one of several fouls that had ‘Cuse fans up in arms Tuesday night. After the game, Head Coach Jim Boeheim called the free throw discrepancy “unusual” and noted that with his team playing a 2-3 zone defense, 23 free throws is a rather high number.
Both Mintz and Jesse Edwards fouled out of the game for the Orange and Benny Williams finished the game with three personal fouls. While the free throw discrepancy was certainly a contributing factor in the loss, there were several other reasons why the Orange could not pull out a win.
Behind the free throws, turnovers killed Syracuse. The Orange committed 17 turnovers to UNC’s 10, but only recorded 12 assists. Joe Girard III led the team in turnovers with six, followed closely by Jesse Edwards and Judah Mintz, both of whom coughed up the ball four times.
On the topic of Jesse Edwards, the usually prolific scorer and rebounder was rendered relatively ineffective against UNC’s new all-time leading rebounder Armando Bacot. The six-foot-eleven, 235 pound forward supposedly has just a five pound weight advantage on Edwards, but Bacot made every ounce of those five pounds count.
With his imposing stature and physical style of play, Bacot outscored Jesse Edwards and Mounir Hima, Edwards’ primary substitute, 18-10. Edwards is usually able to make his way inside for easy layups, but was forced to rely on the shooting abilities of his teammates against Bacot and get the ball back out to the perimeter. Hima endured the same brutal treatment in his eight minutes of play.
Coach Boeheim was clearly frustrated with his team after the game. He once again emphasized that Benny Williams is not rebounding like he should in as many minutes as he plays. In 20 minutes of action against the Tarheels, Williams secured just two rebounds. Boeheim was also critical of Edwards’ performance, even if this may be the toughest matchup Edwards will have all year.
Despite the disappointing result, fans can pull some positives from the game. Most notably, freshman forward Chris Bell had a great scoring night, putting up 15 points with three shots made from behind the arc. Joe Girard III also showed poise and confidence in big moments, nailing several must-have threes at critical moments in the game. With consistency being something the senior guard has struggled with all season, fans can be encouraged by his clutch moments against a talented UNC squad.
Syracuse is back in action Saturday as they take on Virginia Tech on the road. The game is set to tip off at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network.