Syracuse (18-9, 9-5 Atlantic Coast) takes on its third-straight ranked opponent on Tuesday night at No. 5 North Carolina (22-5, 12-2). The Orange are coming off a loss to then-No. 1 Duke on Saturday. UNC has beaten three-straight teams, including Florida State and Duke that have bested SU.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen Tuesday night.

Billy Heyen (20-7)
Stomped on
North Carolina 81, Syracuse 68

UNC beat the Duke team SU just lost to handily. A senior Luke Maye should provide smart plays all night long from the free-throw line area against Syracuse’s zone. Coby White, the all-time leading scorer in North Carolina high school history, will shoot from well beyond the arc and burn the Orange zone. And in the end, Syracuse won’t have enough offense to keep up with a high-powered Tar Heels team that’s one of the top few in the country.

Charlie DiSturco (18-9)
A rough stretch
North Carolina 79, Syracuse 64

North Carolina is one of the hottest teams in the country and easily beat Duke, a team that just defeated Syracuse by double digits. The Tar Heels are an all-around solid team and shoot the ball well. The Orange will struggle yet again in their toughest stretch of the season as UNC continues to roll.

Matthew Gutierrez (16-11)
Orange recovery
Syracuse 74, North Carolina 72

It was frustrating to watch a fairly slow, uninteresting game Saturday night, when the Orange could have beaten a vulnerable Duke team. As head coach Jim Boeheim said, SU has to move on. The only Syracuse wins this game is by shooting — really well. SU gets a big-time bounceback from Tyus Battle and Co., and the Orange pick up a resume-boosting win with less than two weeks left in the regular season.

Published on February 26, 2019 at 1:57 am