Story by
Instant takeaways from UNC basketball win over Syracuse including Ian Jackson and more
- Story by
- Instant takeaways from UNC basketball win over Syracuse including Ian Jackson and more
The North Carolina Tar Heels have to rack up as many wins as they can over the final month of the regular season if they want any shot at the 2025 NCAA Tournament. And that started on Saturday night with a road game at Syracuse.
The Tar Heels went into the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday and got the job done , leading from the start and never really looking back. It was a good win for the Tar Heels despite it being just a Quad 2 win. And it helped keep them on the bubble before falling off completely. Entering this game they were one of the 'next four out' per Joe Lunardi, so a loss would have moved them the wrong way.
Advertisement
This win doesn't get them back in the field but it helped them avoid a disaster. With two games coming up next week at home, UNC can start to build some confidence for a last-season push.
Here are our five instant reactions from the big win over Syracuse.
A win from start to finish...
The most impressive thing about this win is that North Carolina led from start to finish in this game as Syracuse never led. UNC built an early lead with their strong play and even got it to double-figures. But the Orange bounced back and tied the game eventually late.
Still, that didn't phase the Tar Heels. This game never really felt out of control which has been rare for this team as of late. So that was refreshing to see. With what is at stake for UNC in this stretch of the final seven games, they needed a win like this to build some confidence.
Advertisement
Jae'Lyn Withers had the best game of his season
With this team being inconsistent throughout the season, they are going to need players to step up if they want to make a run at the NCAA Tournament. That player on Saturday was Jae'Lyn Withers.
It's been a struggle for the forward all season long but on Saturday, he had his breakout game. He finished with 19 points in 24 minutes and also grabbed six rebounds as he was in the starting lineup. His 19 points were second on the team to only Ian Jackson.
Let's hope this wakes up Withers the rest of the season.
UNC closed out a game late
One of the big positives in this game was that North Carolina closed out this game. They did hold a seven-point lead late in the game before Syracuse made a charge again and got it down to two. After some missed free throws, the Orange were able to crawl back into the game late. And it probably gave UNC fans flashbacks of the team failing to close out a few different games this season.
Advertisement
But not on Saturday. UNC got a big layup late from Elliot Cadeau and then a few stops with free throws to seal the deal and get the win. It was refreshing to see them close out a game rather than have a long scoring drought.
Ian Jackon's drought is over
Wing Ian Jackson hit a freshman wall recently, struggling to score over the past four games. But on Saturday, he ended that streak.
Jackson finished with a team-high 23 points and essentially carried UNC throughout the game. He came up big, making 8 of his 15 attempts including going 5-of-10 from the three-point line. That was huge for the Tar Heels in a game they really needed to win.
Advertisement
Hopefully we see this version of Jackson the rest of the year.
They got a BIG win
Look, the odds of UNC making the NCAA Tournament are still slim. They have blown a few chances this season to get big wins. But the one thing this team cannot afford is having bad losses and Saturday at Syracuse would have been a big loss.
Yes, it was only a Quad 2 win but UNC is in a position where they need to win out or at worse go 6-1 in the final seven games before the NCAA Tournament. Taking it one game at a time is key and they can breathe just a little easier after this one.
The task ahead is taking care of business next week against NC State and Virginia.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Five instant takeaways from UNC basketball's win over Syracuse
