UNC men's basketball escapes late Syracuse push in 87-77 victory

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — It was a close call, but No. 14 North Carolina avoided falling victim to a pre-Duke trap game that’s proven dangerous for the Tar Heels in recent years.

Since 2020, UNC held a 1-5 record in midweek games ahead of the first UNC-Duke game of the year, losing three straight. Well, make that 2-5.

The Tar Heels evaded a late push from the Orange to win, 87-77, on Monday night at the Smith Center.

Caleb Wilson led North Carolina (18-4, 6-3 ACC) once again with 22 points — 10 coming from the free throw line. That extends Wilson’s UNC freshmen records to a program-best 22 double-figure scoring games to begin his career and 16 games scoring 20 or more points.

Henri Veesaar recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. After two seasons without a double-double at Arizona, Veesaar now has the most in the ACC this season. You don’t have to go too far to find the runner-up in that category: Wilson.

Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman torched the Tar Heels for 18 first-half points on 6-of-9 shooting. He only added five more point by the end of the game as the Orange failed to get him involved.

The Orange (13-10, 4-6 ACC), though, didn’t stand down. After falling behind by more than 30 points midway through the second half, Syracuse went on a hot streak — at one point making 11 of 12 field goal attempts to cut the deficit to 10 points. That prompted Jarin Stevenson to call a timeout as the Tar Heels attempted to inbound the ball with just under a minute and a half remaining.

Out of the huddle, Derek Dixon turned the ball over, which Syracuse took advantage of to hit a 3-pointer — pulling the Orange within eight points of the lead at 82-75. A layup soon afterward cut it to six.

The Tar Heels clutched up at the free throw line to hold on to the win.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

Tar Heels turnovers out of character

The Tar Heels committed over five times the number of turnovers they did against Georgia Tech. Here’s an explanation:

North Carolina tied a school record for fewest turnovers in its last game, committing just two (both in the first half), while assisting on 21 of a season-high 36 made field goals in Saturday’s 91–75 win at Georgia Tech. Over the course of the season, even as the guard rotation has fluctuated, the Tar Heels’ ball security has been historically good. North Carolina entered Monday night averaging just 9.48 turnovers, the fewest in program history (the previous low is 10.08 in 2023-24).

That improved ball security has helped fuel UNC’s offensive efficiency. Since the start of ACC play, North Carolina ranks third nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Tar Heels’ 130.7 points per 100 possessions (as of Monday) only trails Houston and Illinois. UNC also entered Monday among the nation’s best in assist-to-turnover ratio (9th) and turnover rate (17th), while also sitting top-20 in offensive efficiency.

This game against Syracuse marked a departure from that trend. The Orange scored 12 points off of 11 UNC turnovers, with 10 of those points coming in Syracuse’s second-half surge.

Luka Bogavac finding his groove

Bogavac had another notable performance on Monday night with 10 points, eight of those coming in the second half.

He made three 3-pointers and scored 16 points in Saturday’s win at Georgia Tech and now leads the Tar Heels with 33 made 3s on the season. Bogavac has been a major plus during Carolina’s recent stretch, posting a +40 over the last three games.

After Bogavac’s trio of triples against the Yellow Jackets on Saturday, opposing coach Damon Stoudamire made a point of highlighting the Montenegrin’s impact on the game.

“He really played well,” Stoudamire said Saturday. “He shot the ball well. We didn’t do a good job guarding him. Everybody else, I call that the known. They got a couple points above what they do. But again, coming off the bench, the kid [Bogavac] has a plus 16. That’s the second-best plus/minus on the team for the day. And you lose by 16 points ... that’s where the game was lost from us.”

Jonathan Powell pops off for 12 off bench

By halftime, Jonathan Powell had scored eight points, including two triples, on a perfect shooting performance. That’s the same amount of points the West Virginia transfer had managed in the last four games combined.

Powell’s 12 points against Syracuse marked his second-best scoring performance of the season, behind his 17 points against USC Upstate in December. Monday night, though, is his best performance against a power conference opponent.

And on an otherwise sleepy night — the Tar Heels had already amassed a 32-point lead with roughly 10 minutes to play — Powell played with plenty of flair. Most of his 3-pointers were followed by a celebration, whether that be a simple three fingers over his face or recreating the “aura farming” dance popularized by the viral clip of the Indonesian boat kid, Rayyan Arkan Dikha.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Powell, like Bogavac, is not short on confidence. In his introductory press conference back in October, the sophomore wing called himself the “best shooter in the country.” But he, like Bogavac and fellow transfer Kyan Evans, have struggled at times to find a consistent stroke from deep.

But if Powell and his bench counterparts can continue to produce like they did with their 29 point outing on Monday night, that bodes well for the Tar Heels entering the home stretch of the season.

One area for improvement, though, would be on defense. Powell exited the game with 2:03 remaining after being called for his fifth foul, this one sending JJ Starling to the line for three shot attempts.

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