Orange Welcome #7/#5 Tar Heels For Rematch On Tuesday

Game Details: Tuesday, Feb. 13, Syracuse, N.Y., 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
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Syracuse (15-9, 6-7 ACC) will host the latter half of the home-and-home series with #7/#5 North Carolina (19-5, 11-2) on Tuesday, February 13, at 7 p.m. in the JMA Wireless Dome.

SETTING THE STAGE
The Orange have dropped two of their last three contests, with their victory coming against Louisville last Wednesday, 94-92.

The Tar Heels have won two of three matchups in February, most recently defeating Miami last Saturday, 75-72.

THE SYRACUSE-NORTH CAROLINA SERIES
Syracuse will battle North Carolina on Tuesday in the 24^th meeting on the hardwood. The Tar Heels own a 17-6 advantage in the all-time series. The last three contests have gone to North Carolina, including last month's 103-67 Tar Heel triumph in Chapel Hill. The last Syracuse victory in the series came on March 1, 2021, when the Orange won, 72-70.

LAST TIME OUT
Sophomores Chris Bell, a forward, and guard J.J. Starling each contributed 16 points against Clemson. Sophomore guard Judah Mintz produced 14 points and a team-leading five assists. Swingman Quadir Copeland, a sophomore, logged 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sophomore center Maliq Brown tallied nine points, eight rebounds and four steals. Sophomore forward Justin Taylor swiped a career-high four steals in the contest. The squad forced 21 Clemson turnovers. That marked the most miscues for the Tigers in a game this season.

ORANGE LEADERS
Mintz ranks fourth in the ACC in scoring average (18.2). He has scored in double-figures in each of the last 16 contests and 22-of-24 games this season. His backcourt partner, Starling, averages 13.2 points per game this season. Over the last eight outings, Starling has scored 17.9 points per game. Brown (9.2 ppg.) leads the team in rebound average (6.8 rpg.). In conference contests, Brown is averaging 7.9 board per affair. Bell (11.4 ppg.) is the other Orange performer averaging double-figure scoring.

Syracuse ranks atop the ACC in steals per game with 9.4. Brown and Mintz rank second (2.17 spg.) and third (2.08 spg.), respectively, among ACC players in steals average.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
North Carolina sports the best record in the ACC this season and scores a conference-leading 82.5 points per game. The Tar Heels' top scorer, senior guard RJ Davis, leads the ACC ( 21.5 ppg). He also has made 98-of-108 (.907) free throw attempts this season. Three other players average double-digit scoring for North Carolina: graduate center Armando Bacot (14.2 ppg.), junior forward Harrison Ingram (12.5) and graduate guard Cormac Ryan (10.3). Bacot ranks first in the ACC in rebound average (10.2 rpg.)

SYRACUSE FANS CAN VOTE MINTZ FOR COUSY AWARD
Mintz is one of 20 watch-list candidates for the 2024 Bob Cousy Award, which is annually presented to the top point guard in Division I men's basketball. Orange followers are encouraged to participate in three rounds of Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, on hoophallawards.com.

Mintz is also on the watch list for the Naismith Trophy. The list is comprised of 50 student-athletes and will be narrowed throughout the year. The winner of the award will be announced later in the season.

TICKETS
Syracuse men's basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX), and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (@cuse_mbb).

Orange Welcome #7/#5 Tar Heels For Rematch On Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

J.J. Starling

Syracuse University Athletics