Syracuse Orange (14-6) vs. No. 15 North Carolina Tar Heels (16-4) GameThread

The Syracuse Orange (14-6, 5-2) faces the No. 15 North Carolina Tar Heels (16-4, 6-1) on Tobacco Road for the first time since 1983 when the "ACC rivals" meet tonight. Syracuse's first-ever game in the Dean Smith Center tips at 7:00 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN and ESPN3.

The two schools have met eight times overall and split them, 4-4. Syracuse won last year’s encounter, 57-45, in the first contest between the two programs as ACC members.

UNC features junior guard Marcus Paige (13.8 PPG), sophomore forward Kennedy Meeks (12.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG) and junior forward Brice Johnson (12.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG).

Jared's got a preview of the contest right over here. And the TNIAAM crew put together their not-so-optimistic predictions right over here.

If the NCAA Tournament started today, the Orange probably aren't in it. If they win this game, however, it could go a long way towards changing that.

Leave your pre-, in- and post-game comments below. G'ORANGE!