What happened?
The Tar Heels (17-3, 5-1 ACC) started out fast, jumping out to a 9-2 lead over the Orange (11-8, 3-3 ACC). Justin Jackson’s five rebounds in the first 3:02 of the game set the tone for the rest of the night, as UNC dominated the board.
Leading the attack on the glass was Kennedy Meeks, whose tip-ins and second-chance baskets were at times UNC’s primary form of offense. Meeks lived in the paint for the entirety of the first half, and it paid off — his 12 points led all scorers at halftime.
But Syracuse refused to go away quietly, pulling the game back to single digits midway through the second half. Tyler Lydon’s 26 points buoyed the Orange’s offense, which stagnated at times.
Eventually, though, even Lydon’s heroics weren’t enough for UNC’s physicality up front. Isaiah Hicks and Jackson joined Meeks in leading the offense for UNC, scoring 20 and 19 points, respectively.
Then, the Tar Heels pushed their lead back to double digits with around five minutes left, and from there the final score was only a formality.
Who stood out?
Lydon shot 11-for-14 and consistently stifled UNC’s momentum with timely buckets. With such a short Syracuse rotation, he had to dominate both in the paint and from outside the arc.
