With March Madness almost here, time is running out for Syracuse and their NCAA tourney hopes.
The Orange went toe-to-toe with North Carolina before finally running out of steam.
In a must-win game for both teams, it was the Tar Heels pulling away from Syracuse with an 88-79 victory in overtime, Monday night in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Cole Swider kept Syracuse afloat with a career-high 36 points. It was a strong bounce-back performance for Swider after scoring just two points in Saturday’s loss to Duke.
There was no hesitation in his game Monday night. With Buddy and Jimmy Boeheim struggling, and a shorthanded roster, Swider’s offensive explosion was right on time for the Orange. However, with 1:33 left in overtime, Swider fouled out and North Carolina pulled away with the win.
The Tar Heels (22-8, 14-5 ACC), backed by Caleb Love’s late-game shooting, are assured of a top-four finish in the ACC and a double-bye in next week’s conference tournament, in Brooklyn. A loss Monday night would’ve been a huge body blow to their tourney resume.
As for Syracuse (15-15, 9-10 ACC), a win at home against Miami on Saturday will help Jim Boeheim avoid his first losing season in 46 years as coach.
Moreover, if the Orange hope to go dancing in this year’s NCAA Tournament, they’ll now likely need to win out in the ACC Tournament next week.
Three Observations
Cole Swider opened my eyes with his shooting against North Carolina. The senior scored 21 of Syracuse’s 36 first-half points. Buddy Boeheim leads the team in scoring with an average of 19.1 points per game. However, If the Orange plan on making a run in Brooklyn, Swider needs to be ready.
Caleb Love is a closer. Now, maybe I didn’t realize this already. However, watching Love shoot North Carolina to victory showed me he’s clutch. Love will be one of my players to watch in the ACC Tournament.
Is Syracuse healthy enough to make a run through Brooklyn? Reserve guard Symir Torrence didn’t travel with the team to North Carolina. Torrence left Saturday night’s loss to Duke and afterwards said he needed three stitches to close a cut on his forehead. He also indicated he was in concussion protocol. Moreover, center John Bol Ajak (lower body injury) was unavailable against the Tar Heels. Early in February, the Orange lost starting center Jesse Edwards for the season with a fractured wrist.
Image: dnett@syracuse.com
