Syracuse men’s basketball vs. North Carolina: TV/streaming, time, odds, history & more

Teams: Syracuse Orange (18-9, 9-5) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (22-5, 12-2)

Day & Time: Tuesday, February 26, 2018, 9 p.m. ET

Location: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC

Line: Syracuse +12

TV/Streaming: RSN (check your local affiliates)/WatchESPN

Radio: Syracuse IMG Network, WAER 88.3, Sirius 93/XM 193

North Carolina blog: Tar Heel Blog

Rivalry: 11-4, UNC

Current Streak: 7, Carolina

First Meeting: Eventual 1957 national champ North Carolina beat Syracuse in the Elite Eight, 67-58. Vinnie Cohen put up 25 points on his own (he’d averaged 24.2 per game that year), but the rest of the team couldn’t deliver against the overpowering Heels.

Jim Brown (#GOAT) did not play with the team during his senior season, and his absence that year could’ve potentially made the difference between ‘Cuse making the Final Four.

Last Meeting: Theo Pinson scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while also dishing out six assists, in North Carolina’s 78-59 beat down of Syracuse in the ACC Tournament last March.

Pinson was a force along with Kenny Williams, who added 17 points as the Tar Heels moved on to the tourney’s quarterfinals.

Despite having a ten-point lead at the half, North Carolina struggled to get into a rhythm in the game’s first 20 minutes. As a team, the Tar Heels shot just 38 percent against the Orange’s zone in the opening half. That, though, changed in the second as Pinson and Williams were able to do work closer to the basket.

Syracuse, which left the Barclays Center as bubbly as bubble teams get, was led by Oshae Brissett’s 20 points—the freshman even connected on five three-pointers. Tyus Battle, meanwhile, had a nightmare in Brooklyn. The sophomore shot 4 of 21 from the field, 2 of 8 from three, and scored just 15 points.

Head Coaches: SU: Jim Boeheim (43rd year, 1,045-380); North Carolina: Roy Williams (16th year, 446–131—864–232)

Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports

Coach Bio: Williams played a couple years for the Heels’ JV squad, then after four years started coaching at high school ball. Five years there got him back up to UNC, serving under Dean Smith. He was an assistant at his alma mater between 1978 and 1988, then grabbed his first college head coaching job with Kansas.

He led the Jayhawks to a 418-101 record, but regularly fell short of the ultimate goal. Williams bolted back to UNC to take over the program after losing to Syracuse in the 2003 title game.

During his time at UNC, Williams has won three championships, and lost another in excruciating fashion, plus his teams have taken home three ACC titles. There’s also that whole academic scandal which resulted in no penalties for the Heels. So, okay then.

Last Year: North Carolina avenged a rather forgettable regular season (the Tar Heels finished with an 11-7 ACC record) by taking out Syracuse, Miami and Duke before losing to Virginia in the conference tournament title game. That late run vaulted expectations, giving the Tar Heels a two seed in the NCAA tourney.

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

However, after beating 15-seeded Lipscomb in the opener, North Carolina was beaten up by Texas A&M, 86-65, in the second round.

Last Game: Fresh off the beat down of Zion Williamson-less Duke, the Tar Heels wore down No. 16 Florida State, 77-59. Cameron Johnson went for a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Luke Maye continued his strong play (what’d ya say) by adding 15 points and 11 boards of his own.

What’s even more impressive about the home victory is how the Tar Heels were able to not only continue the momentum of the road win over the Blue Devils, but also how they were able to make FSU look marginal. And remember, the Seminoles entered the Dean Dome having won eight-straight games.

The Noles shot 31 percent from the field, their worst performance of the season, and scored just seven points over the game’s final 10 minutes and thirty seconds. In fact, Carolina ended the game on a 23-7 run.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

“Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: Cameron Johnson is leading North Carolina in scoring (16.7 ppg) and steals (1.3). The senior guard also appears to have locked in lately. Johnson scored 27 points in a blow-out win a Wake Forest, 26 points in the victory over the Blue Devils last week, and had 18 against Florida State. He’s also made 10 of his last 18 three-point attempts—he’s a 47-percent shooter from deep for the season.

There’s also Luke Maye, who had 13 points and nine rebounds in the Tar Heel’s ACC tourney win over Syracuse last March. The senior averages 15.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and, like Johnson, has had some huge games lately, including a 30-point game at Duke.

If Syracuse Wins: Wouldn’t it be Typical Syracuse to miss out on the big Duke game only to go on the road and beat North Carolina? I’m not saying it will happen, or that you should expect it to, but the Orange tends to win some of these type of games ever now and again.

Either way, a victory would be the biggest feather in the NCAA Tournament resume cap, meaning Syracuse would be able to avoid all of this “bubble” talk from here on out.

If Syracuse Loses: That would make it eight-straight losses to Ole Roy Williams’ Tar Heels. Which, given how good North Carolina is on a year-to-year basis, wouldn’t be all that stunning. But then again, the Tar Heels own the Orange right now and they’re doing it by beating SU up on the inside more often than not. It’s almost like Williams has beat the perfect anti-zone opponent for Jim Boeheim, one that doesn’t too often fall into the shoot-three-pointers trap.

Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports

Fun Fact No. 1: This one isn’t “fun” but: Syracuse is now 1-7 against North Carolina since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. And if you’re paying attention, you would have figured out that the Orange beat the Tar Heels in their first ever conference match up and have lost every single other game since.

Fun Fact No. 2: There’s nothing too “fun” about North Carolina. Although, Babe Ruth reportedly hit his first professional home run in Fayetteville, N.C. on March 7th, 1914.