Syracuse Orange vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels entered the 2015-16 college basketball season as the favorites to win the national championship and, as the Final Four starts on Saturday in Houston at NRG Stadium, they’re just two wins away from accomplishing just that. However, they’ll have to get by a familiar ACC foe to just make it to Monday’s title game as they face the Syracuse Orange in the Final Four.
North Carolina won both regular season matchups between the two teams and Brice Johnson for the Tar Heels starred in each victory. He’s been a monster for Roy Williams and North Carolina all season. However, the guard play of Marcus Paige and Joel Berry could be huge for UNC in this matchup on Saturday as they’ve been playing their best basketball of the year as of late and could help carry their team to victory. Syracuse, on the other hand, was a controversial choice to just make the tournament, but no one’s questioning them now. If they want to continue this improbable run past the Final Four, they’ll need freshman Malachi Richardson and senior leader Michael Gbinije to come up big against the Heels.
Details for Saturday’s game are below:
Date: Saturday, April 2
Start Time: 8:49 p.m. ET
Location: Houston, TX
Arena: NRG Stadium
TV Info: TBS
Live Stream: March Madness Live
Radio: Here
Keys to Victory
For the underdog in Syracuse in this matchup, the key is going to be using their defense to control the pace of the game. It’s no secret that North Carolina—Final Four or not—is at their best when they are pushing the pace and the Orange don’t have the firepower to keep up with the Tar Heels in that type of matchup. Subsequently, it’s going to be vital for Jim Boeheim’s group of young men to make sure that they dictate the flow of the game if they’re going to have a chance at yet another upset.
When it comes to North Carolina, the performance of Brice Johnson and Isaiah Hicks on the interior is going to be huge. The frontcourt duo dominated both regular season matchups with their scoring and rebounding and that needs to be the case in the Final Four to give the Tar Heels their best chance to winnings. However, their backcourt’s performance will be important as well. If Marcus Paige is hitting shots with the consistency that he’s shown in March Madness, the Heels could potentially run away with this one.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: North Carolina -9.5
Moneyline: North Carolina -550, Syracuse +425
O/U: 144
Prediction
There’s no denying that both ACC teams are playing their best basketball of the year right now, but there’s also no escaping the talent discrepancy between the two with North Carolina having the advantage. There just doesn’t seem to be a likely scenario where the Tar Heels don’t advance to the title game.
Final Score: Syracuse Orange: 69, North Carolina Tar Heels: 84
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