Syracuse Men’s Basketball has no choice but to turn the page after Monday’s 101-64 demolition at Duke. The loss was one of the five worst in program history and the Orange’s 11th straight defeat to the Blue Devils.
Head coach Adrian Autry emphasized that there is still a season to finish.
“We didn’t play the way we needed to play but, you know, we got more games to play. We got four games to play. Four great opportunities.”
The first of those four great opportunities comes Saturday at home against No. 16 North Carolina, the second meeting between the two schools this season. UNC handled SU the first time around, pulling away for an 87-77 victory. But things could look different for the Tar Heels this time around.
North Carolina has been without its top two scorers in each of its last two games, and the status of both remains in question ahead of their trip to the Dome.
Caleb Wilson, a projected lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft, leads the Tar Heels with 20 points and 9 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-10 freshman torched Syracuse for 22 points and 9 rebounds earlier this season, but fractured his left hand against Miami on Feb. 10. While he’s learning to play with a cast on his non-shooting hand, his return timetable remains unclear.
Right behind Wilson in scoring (16.4) and rebounding (9.0) is center Henri Vessaar. The 7-foot junior missed each of North Carolina’s last two games, first with an illness against Pitt and then a lower-body injury in a loss to NC State. UNC is hopeful Vessaar can return soon, but his timeline is equally uncertain.
That leaves Syracuse with a chance to take advantage of a bruised and battered North Carolina squad.
With four games left in another seemingly lost season, Autry wasn’t wrong in categorizing Saturday as a great opportunity. A win over North Carolina would be just SU’s third victory over a ranked opponent in the Adrian Autry era, and a solid way to begin the final stretch of the season.
