What to know about Syracuse

For the first time since 2009 — when they won the national championship — North Carolina is back in the Final Four.

The Tar Heels beat Notre Dame in the Elite Eight 88-74 on Sunday night, leaving them as the only one seed remaining after Syracuse toppled top-ranked Virginia in the Midwest regional final.

Now North Carolina and the Orange will play at 8:49 p.m. on Saturday night in Houston for a spot in the championship game.

UNC won both games against Syracuse this season, pulling away late in the first game in the return of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim and winning 84-73.

The second time around, the Tar Heels sent off their senior class of Joel James, Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige off with a win in their final home game, holding on late to win 75-70.

Here are three things to note about Syracuse.

No typical Cinderella

Syracuse’s inclusion into the tournament was widely panned. The Orange had the lowest ever RPI (No. 72) for a team granted an at large bid, but they’ve won four straight games to become only the fourth team ever to make the Final Four as a double-digit seed.

The Orange don’t fit the typical mold for a Cinderella team. The team made the Final Four in 2013 and is a traditionally strong program from a major conference. Boeheim showed why he’s considered a Hall of Fame coach by switching to a full-court press defense from Syracuse’s trademark 2-3 zone — a move that flummoxed the Cavaliers and sparked Syracuse’s comeback. The Orange have proven they’re not just a feel-good story.

Rookies no more

A large part of Syracuse’s tournament success has been due to first-years Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon. Through the tournament, the duo have averaged a hair over 25 points per game combined.

Lydon will present a unique challenge for the Tar Heels.

The 6-foot-8 forward shoots over 40 percent from deep and takes almost half of his shots from that distance. Guarding the 3-pointer has been a challenge for the Tar Heels this season, and Lydon could take advantage of that on Saturday.

Size matters

The biggest player Syracuse trots out is 6-foot-9 senior DaJuan Coleman. He only plays 17 minutes per game, leaving 6-foot-8 forwards Lydon and Tyler Roberson to man the post most of the time.

That creates a mismatch UNC can exploit. In the first contest, Isaiah Hicks exploded for the Tar Heels with 21 points against the Orange, while teammate Brice Johnson added 16. No one stood out for UNC in the second matchup, but Hicks, Johnson and Kennedy Meeks combined for 34 of UNC’s 75 points that night.

It will be up to Roy Williams to make an adjustment in a chess match between Hall of Fame coaches with a spot in the national title game on the line.

@loganulrich

sports@dailytarheel.com