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North Carolina closed Syracuse’s lead to two after Caleb Love stole Robert Braswell’s desperation pass to break the press. But it missed a potential game-tying jumper on the final possession, allowing the Orange to escape with a 72-70 victory.

With SU needing wins, any win, to desperately boost its NCAA Tournament resume, Buddy Boeheim led the Orange (14-8, 8-7 Atlantic Coast) in scoring once again, and the Orange overcame a 20-rebound deficit that only grew throughout Monday’s game.

Here are three takeaways from Syracuse’s win against the Tar Heels (15-9, 9-6):

Buddy’s run (and milestone)

As the game clock ticked down toward halftime, Buddy positioned himself in the corner — where he’d spotted up a handful of times before in the half — and took a pass from Quincy Guerrier. He’d already passed Frank Howard on Syracuse’s all-time scoring list in the opening 19 minutes, connecting on another 3-pointer from the left side after slipping past a Guerrier screen and taking a lob pass from Kadary Richmond.

But then Buddy hit that final 3-pointer of the first half, the one that made him the 64th player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point mark in their Syracuse career, the one that gave him 17 points in the opening 20 minutes. With Guerrier struggling offensively and hindered by a leg injury, Buddy became the scorer who helped Syracuse mitigate a vast rebounding disadvantage and eventually build a double-digit lead.

Buddy’s 26 points boosted his 20.6 points per game average from the previous three games. He scored just nine points in the second half, as North Carolina tightened its perimeter defense on him, but it opened up more opportunities inside for Guerrier and others. But with just over eight minutes left in the second half, Buddy backed in on Love as the shot clock wound down.

An offensive rebound and UNC foul had extended the Orange’s possession, and Buddy flung a one-handed shot toward the rim as he drew a foul. It sunk into the basket, and he hit a free throw to put SU back up eight points.

Right where they left off

Syracuse’s ability to convert from beyond the arc in the first half masked a similar rebounding advantage that followed throughout the Orange’s loss to UNC earlier this season in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina grabbed more offensive rebounds (24) in that win than Syracuse did defensive rebounds (21), establishing a consistent method to accumulate 24 second-chance points.

The Orange’s solution to that on Monday came through Jesse Edwards, the center who wasn’t ready for most of the season, according to head coach Jim Boeheim. With eight minutes left in the second half, Richmond had scanned Syracuse’s rotating players from behind the baseline, waiting for the movement to eventually result in an open shot. By the right block, Edwards waited for his UNC defender to eventually lean toward the 3-point arc.

Edwards slipped toward the basket, corralled Richmond’s pass and dunked in two points. He finished with six points, eight rebounds and four steals for the Orange before fouling out, providing the interior lift that SU lacked — despite the 53-33 rebounding advantage the Tar Heels finished with.

Richmond’s injury, among others

With North Carolina racing down the court in transition before the under-four media timeout, Richmond hobbled behind. He’d injured himself earlier in the sequence, limping over to the bench, grimacing in pain as Syracuse’s trainers helped him to a bag of ice.

He had played the second half for Syracuse until that point, replacing an ineffective Joe Girard III who had two bad turnovers in the first half and played just six minutes before Richmond’s injury. But for the final minutes, as Syracuse struggled against the UNC press, Richmond sat on the bench wearing his warmup jersey.

Two minutes later, Guerrier also hobbled off the court. He suffered a knee bruise in the Georgia Tech game, according to team broadcaster Matt Park.

Richmond didn’t return during the game’s final minutes as Syracuse closed out its victory, but his status going forward — along with Guerrier’s — will determine how effective and competitive Syracuse will be in its final regular season game and conference tournament down in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Published on March 1, 2021 at 9:23 pm

Contact Andrew: [email protected] | @CraneAndrew