Three things that stood out in North Carolina’s 93-83 victory over Syracuse …
North Carolina shot from the perimeter unusually well. On the season, the Tar Heels (17-4, 7-1 ACC) aren’t a particularly good 3-point shooting team. But they have been decent since the start of conference play, and were especially sharp from the outside against Syracuse.
North Carolina was 9 of 16 from 3-point land Monday, with Marcus Paige (4-for-7) and Nate Britt (4-for-5) doing much of the work. Paige’s performance is no surprise; he remains the Tar Heels’ best backcourt scoring option. But it was a breakout night for Britt, who connected on only three 3-pointers in North Carolina’s first seven league games.
Free throw line performance wasn’t an issue for Syracuse. The Orange (14-7, 5-3) isn’t good enough to overcome poor foul shooting against a good team, as Saturday’s loss to Miami illustrated. But while looking for culprits for this setback, the Orange’s showing at the line isn’t to blame.
Syracuse made 18 of 23 free throws (78.3 percent), which isn’t a figure anyone can complain about. Center Rakeem Christmas, who has gone to the line more than 50 times more than any of his teammates this season, was 10 of 10. For this night, anyway, other things plagued the Orange far more than this fundamental.
Brice Johnson has become quite the double-double machine. The North Carolina junior had 17 points and 11 rebounds while also blocking three shots, the sort of performance that’s becoming customary. Johnson has four double-doubles during the Tar Heels’ six-game winning streak, and he’s averaging 14.5 points and 10 rebounds in that span.
Paired with Kennedy Meeks (17 points, eight rebounds), a proficient Johnson gives North Carolina one of the mightiest starting frontcourts in the country. It’s fun just thinking about how that pair will match up with Duke’s Jahlil Okafor in the teams’ two (or maybe even three) meetings down the road.
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech (7, ESPNU): After pushing Virginia to the final minute on Sunday, the Hokies (8-11, 0-6) face a quick turnaround as the Panthers (13-7, 3-4) visit Cassell Coliseum.
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