North Carolina Basketball: Tar Heels still look like a top-tier team

North Carolina held on for the rout of Syracuse in the second round of the ACC Tournament and won the game 78-59 to advance to the quarterfinals round.

North Carolina ended the regular season with back-to-back losses to Miami and Duke. Because of that the Tar Heels fell all the way down to a No. 6 seed in the ACC Tournament. UNC isn’t your typical six seed in a conference tournament.

The Tar Heels played the Syracuse Orange at the end of February. That game seemed like a must win for the Orange then. They ended up almost pulling it out, but Theo Pinson played like the senior he is. He dropped 23 points, on 2 for 2 shooting from deep, grabbed six boards and dished seven assists.

Since that game, Pinson has been on a tear. Nothing changed on Wednesday night in the rematch against Syracuse. He recorded his second double-double in four games. Pinson did it against Miami with assists. This time around he did it with rebounds. The senior forward is averaging over 15 points per game when you include the second round matchup of the ACC Tournament.

North Carolina wins games when they’re getting second-chance opportunities and scoring in transition. Luke Maye is at his best when he’s active on the glass. His game is cleaning up miss shots and putting it back. Maye is also effective when he finds an open man cutting to the basket when he draws attention. He was able to grab three offensive boards against Syracuse for a total of nine rebounds. Maye dropped 13 on 4 for 9 shooting and dished two assists.

Joel Berry has now put together back-to-back single-digit performances. It’s probably a big reason why North Carolina fell to Duke last Saturday. Against Syracuse in the Second Round, however, it didn’t have as much impact. The other two guards scored and Syracuse wasn’t hitting their three-pointers so UNC never had to get in panic mode.

The Orange did make a game of it in the second half though. At the 7:37 mark in the second half, UNC led 60-44. Right around that point, Tyus Battle attempted a shot and looked gassed. The Syracuse guard plays just about every second of every game.

Syracuse then puts together what ended up probably being their final push of the season. The Orange went on a 13-9 run and came within nine of the Tar Heels with 4:17 to go. Battle and Frank Howard gave it all they had in the final half of the second half. Howard finished with 12 points, but only made one three-pointer. Battle dropped 15 and only shot two for eight from downtown.

Oshae Brissett should also be mentioned on behalf of Syracuse. The guy was unconscious from deep in the first, but couldn’t carry it into the second half to make a whole game out of it. Brissett was four for four from behind-the-arc in the first half. He only made one more three-pointer after that and ended the game with 20.

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The Tarr Heels were able to see their transition offense click which led to a lot of points. UNC knows that is one of their strengths and it is also a big way to kill the 2-3 zone. Syracuse is known for their killer, half-court zone, but if UNC beats the defense back, they won’t have to worry about it.

One man for UNC that is better than most in transition is Kenny Williams. One of his biggest contributions is being able to hit the transition three. I’m pretty sure both of his shots from deep were in transition. He ended the game with 17 points, three steals, two assists and three boards.

Another guy who keeps adding things to his arsenal is Cam Johnson. The transfer from Pittsburgh stands at six-foot-four and has been known as a three-point shooter in the backcourt along with Williams.

Johnson as of late has been driving the ball to the hoop more. He never really stood out as a guy who would be effective doing so, but he’s been looking great. Johnson shows off his long legs and arms while scooping the ball into the basket. To me, he looks a lot like Justin Jackson from the past three years in Chapel Hill. Johnson may be four inches shorter than him, but the lanky and quickness is definitely there.

Next: UNC games won't be the same without Woody Durham

The Tar Heels now advance to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament to play in a rematch with Miami. The Hurricanes spoiled Senior Night for UNC. Berry hit a three-pointer to tie the game with just over two seconds left. Miami then pulled a Villanova and sent a dagger through the hearts of the Tar Heels for the game-winner.

North Carolina wants revenge. They also want to show that they don’t belong as low as sixth in the conference. That’s especially since the Tar Heels shouldn’t get anything lower than a three seed on Sunday. One more nice thing would be a rematch with Duke on Friday night. If UNC beats Miami and Duke takes care of Notre Dame, we’ll have a bonus match up of the greatest rivalry in college basketball.