SYRACUSE, N.Y. — North Carolina’s 20 turnovers proved insurmountable down the stretch as Syracuse held on to win, 72-70. Roy Williams said after UNC’s loss to Marquette that his team couldn’t stand a little prosperity and that was evident Monday following the upset win over Florida State.
The Tar Heels led by nine on two separate occasions in the first half. In the final 6:46 of that half, they had three field goals to go along with four turnovers to allow the Orange to compile a six-point lead into halftime. UNC eventually retook the lead, 36-35, with 17:41 to play, but the Orange capitalized on numerous turnovers to get to its largest lead of the game, 63-49. Despite that, the Tar Heels trailed by three with 11.4 seconds, but Caleb Love missed two free throws to extinguish his team’s chance at a comeback.
Syracuse’s zone defense once again led to an overwhelming rebound margin in favor of UNC, 53-33, with Armando Bacot leading the way with 15. UNC was too inefficient at the rim leading to 25 second-chance points on 26 offensive rebounds.
Buddy Boeheim, who had 18 first-half points in Chapel Hill, finished with 26 points on 9-for-20 shooting, including 6-for-13 from three-point range. Quincy Guerrier, who was dealing with a sore knee entering the game, added 18 points and six rebounds.
Watch and read everything UNC head coach Roy Williams told media members following the loss:
