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In the latest jumble of scheduling tweaks, Syracuse (6-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) will now face North Carolina instead of Clemson on Tuesday due to a positive COVID-19 case in the Tigers’ program. Clemson’s game against UNC, scheduled for Saturday, has also been postponed, bumping the Orange’s tip-off time against Georgetown up an hour to 7 p.m.

SU’s game against the Tar Heels was originally scheduled for Jan. 2, but that game was postponed due to the Orange’s program pause due to COVID-19. It was one of three games altered during the Orange’s second pause this season, which lasted two weeks after Buffalo — Syracuse’s opponent on Dec. 19 — reported COVID-19 cases that resulted in quarantining and contact tracing.

The latest postponement against Clemson would’ve left SU with an opening on Tuesday, one that aligned with an opening in North Carolina’s schedule. 

Now, the Orange will play UNC in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels won their last game against Miami on Tuesday 67-55 and are led by Armando Bacot (11.0 points per game) and Garrison Brooks (10.2). They rank No. 3 the country in offensive rebounding percentage (40.7%), per KenPom.

Syracuse has struggled in offensive rebounding, which contributed to an 18-point blown lead in its most recent game — a 63-60 loss to Pittsburgh — as the Panthers outrebounded SU 49-33, including 20-9 on the offensive boards. Quincy Guerrier, the Orange’s leading rebounder, spent most of the second half on the bench with foul trouble, and Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III combined to shoot just 6-for-23 combined from the field. 

“We started off the game making shots, we got the same shots the whole game, but we didn’t make them,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said postgame. “Our defense was pretty good, solid, but we depend on making jump shots, and we haven’t really made them since we took the first break.”

Published on January 8, 2021 at 5:06 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew