SU basketball upsets UNC for Autry’s first ranked win (final score, recap) (2024)

Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse basketball team takes on the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels at 7 p.m., Tuesday in the JMA Wireless Dome.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

See in-game team and individual stats here.

See betting odds and score prediction here.

Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game vs. North Carolina to see the latest updates

Final: Syracuse 86, North Carolina 79

A month after getting thumped by 36 points in Chapel Hill, Syracuse stunned the seventh-ranked Tar Heels on Tuesday night in the JMA Wireless Dome.

It doubles as the first ranked win for coach Adrian Autry and is the Orange’s first victory against an Associated Press Top 10 opponent since SU knocked off Zion Williamson and No. 1 Duke on Jan. 14, 2019.

It’s just the fourth win in 17 games against the Tar Heels since the Orange joined the ACC ahead of the 2013-14 season.

Syracuse shot a blistering 63% from the field. Its starting backcourt of Judah Mintz and JJ Starling was sensational, combining for 48 points.

The Orange played zone most of the game, adapting its aggressive man-to-man defense as a result of depleted depth in the frontcourt.

Quadir Copeland came up with a game-sealing steal with 33.3 seconds left in the right corner. The sophom*ore from Philadelphia forced three turnovers late in the game to hold off a Carolina rally.

Second half

Cormac Ryan commits a hard foul on Brown after a slippery cut to the basket. Officials are reviewing whether it rises to a flagrant I status with 1:37 remaining in regulation.

Officials determine it’s just a two-shot foul. Brown hits one of two free throws to give Syracuse a 77-72 lead.

Copeland forces a huge turnover on Ingram near the sideline. Officials check the monitor and overrule the initial call on the floor. Looks like Ingram got a pinky finger as Copeland poked it away.

2:02 remaining: Syracuse 76, North Carolina 72

Starling with another 3 with the shot clock winding down, and it’s another big one.

Syracuse leads 76-69 with 2:46 remaining.

The most recent AP Top 10 win for Syracuse came on Jan. 14, 2019 at No. 1 Duke, when Zion Williamson suited up for the Blue Devils.

Starling gets rejected at the rim, then Copeland knocks it off a Carolina’s player leg to give the Orange the possession.

3:38 remaining: Syracuse 71, North Carolina 67

Starling smiles as he banks in a 3 launched from about 30-35 feet with the shot clock winding down.

Harrison Ingram with a grown-man finish underneath crashing the glass on the missed 3 by Davis.

Mintz is up to 21 after the mid-range jumper. He’s shot it well tonight (8-for-11).

Mintz draws a foul on Cadeau to take us into the under-4 media timeout.

The Orange is in position to spring the upset.

7:08 remaining: North Carolina 65, Syracuse 64

Mintz hits from 15 feet, but Ryan answers with a jumper off the bounce. Mintz with a game-high 17 points to go with five rebounds and three assists.

RJ Davis gets a three-point play in transition as Brown whistled for goaltending after the foul by Starling.

The sophom*ore from Baldwinsville responds with a strong right hand. Then Bell gets a layup in transition.

So much for the slow start by Davis: He knocks down a 3 to get into double figures.

Cadeau with another nice pass in traffic. The freshman point guard has dished out six assists.

11:53 remaining: Syracuse 56, North Carolina 53

Bell and Starling hit 3s to jumpstart a 6-0 surge to open the second half. Justin Taylor with the extra pass to Starling for the latter triple.

Seth Trimble follows a missed 3 by Davis and is fouled by Mintz.

Mintz with a nifty fake on the pass to the corner and strong finish.

Pass from Starling is too high for Brown. RJ Davis knocks down a 3 at the other end. It’s been a quiet scoring night for Davis, who also has three fouls.

Syracuse comes up empty on a couple changes, and Cadeau knocks down a 3 to crawl back within three.

Cadeu feeds Bacot in the paint with his back to the basket in the teeth of the Syracuse’s zone.

Halftime: Syracuse 42, North Carolina 42

Syracuse closes strong with Brown and Copeland on the bench with two fouls, showing a lot more fight against UNC than when these teams met a month ago.

The Orange is getting strong guard play, though inconsistent 3-point defense has allowed Carolina to erase a 10-point deficit.

Maliq Brown has eight points and four rebounds, plus two assists, two steals and a block. He must stay on the floor down the stretch if SU wants to pull the upset.

Interestingly, Carolina leads in fast-break points, 7-0, and SU leads in paint points, 18-16.

First half

3:12 remaining: North Carolina 37, Syracuse 36

Now RJ Davis and Bacot get whistled for their second fouls with 4:45 remaining. Bacot’s came on the penetration by Mintz, who wanted the and-one call.

Carolina comes all the way back from 10 down to take the lead on back-to-back 3s by Harrison Ingram.

5:04 remaining: Syracuse 32, North Carolina 31

Copeland remains on the court with two fouls. Maliq Brown, though, gets pulled after picking up a second foul on a moving screen.

Cadeau gets 1-of-2 at the line after drawing the foul on Starling, then RJ Davis gets on the scoreboard with a deep 3. Carolina has trimmed a 10-point deficit to three.

With Brown on the bench, Carolina goes right to Bacot, who is guarded by Mounir Hima.

Timeout: Syracuse

7:22 remaining: Syracuse 30, North Carolina 22

Bacot hits a pair of free throws on the other side of the under-12 timeout. Carolina gets within five on a corner 3 by Ryan.

Starling and Copeland both with tough finishes at the rim. Syracuse’s guards have risen to the occasion here in the first half.

Bell continues his hot shooting. He’s got eight.

11:10 remaining: Syracuse 23, North Carolina 13

Harrison Ingram hits from the high post as the Orange deploys a 2-3 zone.

Mintz gets a runner to drop, plus the foul to complete a three-point play.

Jae’Lyn Withers throws in a layup off a backdoor cut.

JJ Starling hits from the midrange, then Quadir Copeland gets a gorgeous up-and-under scooping layup to drop to stretch the lead to 10.

Really good start midway through the first half for SU, which has made 9-of-13 shots (69%) and is 3-for-5 from 3.

15:26 remaining: Syracuse 13, North Carolina 7

North Carolina and Syracuse trade 3s between Cormac Ryan and Chris Bell.

Maliq Brown hits his fifth 3 of the season left alone at the top of the key, then gets a putback on a miss by Judah Mintz.

Brown hits a second 3 from the top as Armando Bacot doesn’t fully close out on him.

Brown and Bell have all 13 points for the Orange.

Pregame

Syracuse’s starting lineup: Judah Mintz, JJ Starling, Chris Bell, Justin Taylor and Maliq Brown.

Syracuse wraps up a three-game homestand Tuesday night against No. 7 North Carolina, an outfit that stomped the Orange by 36 points last month in Chapel Hill.

The Orange is even more undermanned than the last time these two met. Backup center Peter Carey has been ruled out. He’s in concussion protocol, the school said.

So much falls on the shoulders of Maliq Brown to counter the Tar Hees’ physical frontcourt. Syracuse struggled to keep Clemson off the glass in Saturday’s loss to the Tigers, and the Tar Heels bring equal amounts of gift in that department.

It doesn’t get any easier in the backcourt.

RJ Davis is a leading candidate for ACC POY, and freshman Elliot Cadeau is coming off a career-high, 19-point outing in a victory against Miami (Fla.). It was just the fourth time in ACC play that Cadeau hit double figures.

We do expect to see Kyle Cuffe Jr. Adrian Autry benched the reserve guard each of the past two games for what he termed a coach’s decision. But earlier in the week, the first-year coach said he’d look to get Cuffe back in the mix given his team’s depleted depth.