RJ Davis scores 22 points, No. 7 North Carolina routs Syracuse 103-67
North Carolina guard RJ Davis (4) drives past Syracuse guard JJ Starling (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Credit: AP/Chris Seward
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — RJ Davis scored 22 points to help No. 7 North Carolina race away from Syracuse for a 103-67 victory on Saturday.
Armando Bacot added 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Tar Heels (13-3, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their sixth consecutive game. Harrison Ingram also had a double-double (11 points and 10 rebounds), while Jalen Washington had 11 points and Jae’Lyn Withers chipped in 10.
“They played with a lot of emotion today. I was really proud of their effort,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “We talked about dominating points in the paint. As good as Syracuse is, they’re limited in the front court, and so, we wanted to get the ball inside.”
Judah Mintz led Syracuse (11-5, 2-3) with 21 points. Quadir Copeland added 16 points and Chris Bell had 13.
The Tar Heels pulled away from Syracuse with a 34-11 run over a stretch of about 11 minutes midway through the first half. While the Orange shot 2 of 15 from the floor and had seven turnovers during that span, Davis scored 10 points for the Tar Heels, which pushed UNC’s lead to 27 points.
Syracuse trimmed the deficit to 15 points near the start of the second half but never got any closer. The Tar Heels later used a 20-8 run to increase their lead to 39 points, their largest of the game. Washington had five points and a steal during that surge.
“I thought North Carolina was a tougher team. They jumped on us and just kept the pressure up,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “I thought it was the first time that we were kind of on our heels all year.”
North Carolina forward Armando Bacot (5) pulls down a rebound against Syracuse guard Judah Mintz (3) and forward Maliq Brown (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Credit: AP/Chris Seward
BIG PICTURE
Syracuse: The Orange entered this contest having won six of their last seven games, but they are now 0-4 on the season against AP Top 25 ranked opponents. Syracuse’s history of bad luck inside the Dean Smith Center continued — the Orange are 0-7 all-time in Chapel Hill — as it suffered its most lopsided loss of the season.
North Carolina: UNC topped 100 points scored for the third time this season and is off to its best start in ACC play since going 8-0 to begin the 2015-16 season. Key for UNC against Syracuse was its proficiency inside, outscoring the Orange 58-32 in the paint and winning the rebounding advantage 53-30.
BACOT OWNS ORANGE
Syracuse guard Judah Mintz (3) dunks against North Carolina during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Credit: AP/Chris Seward
Bacot finished with a double-double for the fourth time in seven career games against Syracuse. The Tar Heels center is now 5-2 all-time against the Orange, averaging 13.5 points and 10.7 rebounds in those games.
“As a group, I think we did a good job of getting to the paint, getting easy layups, getting offensive rebounds. That was really our main key the whole game,” Bacot said. “Really, it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve been having fun all year.”
Bacot recently became the seventh Tar Heel to score more than 2,000 points in his career. He needs six points to pass Lennie Rosenbluth for fourth all-time in program history. UNC is 11-1 this season when Bacot scores in double figures.
UP NEXT
Syracuse: The Orange travel to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
North Carolina: Louisville visits the Tar Heels on Wednesday.
