• This is Carolina’s fourth road game in a five-game span. Following Saturday’s game in upstate New York, the Tar Heels return to the Smith Center next week for consecutive home starts against NC State (February 19) and Virginia (February 22).
• Since winning at NC State on January 11, the Tar Heels have dropped four straight road games and are 3-6 this season on the road.
• Carolina is 14-11, 7-6 in ACC play, after losing five of its last seven games. That stretch followed a four-game win streak in league play and began with a 72-71 home loss to Stanford.
• Syracuse is coming off a 91-84 loss at Miami. The Orange is 11-14, including 5-9 in the ACC. That includes a 9-5 record in the Dome (3-4 in league play).
• Carolina lost, 85-65, at Clemson on Monday. The 20-point deficit equaled the largest margin ever in a loss to the Tigers.
• The Tar Heels led, 23-21, nearly 11 minutes into the game before the Tigers made 12 of their next 15 field goal attempts to go on a 28-10 run to end the first half.
• Carolina scored 22 points off turnovers, which equaled its season-high in ACC play, but was outrebounded by 13, gave up 15 offensive rebounds and was outscored by 24 points from the three-point line.
• RJ Davis continued his good shooting (6 of 12 FG, 2 of 5 3FG) to lead UNC with 18 points. He passed Virginia’s Bryant Stith for sixth in ACC career scoring with 2,523 points.
CAROLINA-SYRACUSE
• The Tar Heels are 17-7 all-time against the Orange, including 13-4 since Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013-14.
• Carolina is 5-3 against the Orange in the JMA Wireless Dome (previously known as the Carrier Dome).
• UNC is also 7-1 four NCAA Tournament appearances in Syracuse, giving the Tar Heels an overall record of 12-4 in the Dome. UNC went 1-1 in 1983, 2-0 in 1991, 2-0 in 1997 and 2-0 in 2005 in NCAA Tournament games.
• Carolina is 34-18 all-time in domed stadiums (not including the Smith Center).
• Carolina’s 97-74 win over Louisville in the 1997 NCAA East Regional final was Dean Smith’s 879th and final win as head coach.
• In 2005, NCAA East Regional MVP Sean May, now an assistant coach for the Tar Heels, led Carolina to wins over Villanova and Wisconsin to send UNC to the Final Four, where it won the first of three NCAA titles under head coach Roy Williams.
• The teams split a pair of games last season, each winning at their respective home arenas. The Tar Heels beat the Orange, 103-67, in Chapel Hill on 1/13/24, while Syracuse returned the favor with an 86-79 win in the Dome one month later.
• Syracuse shot 63.0% from the floor in the first half and 61.9% in the second in the Orange’s win in the Dome. It was the first time since 2015 an opponent shot 60% from the floor in both halves.
• RJ Davis hit four three-pointers and led Carolina with 19 points. Cormac Ryan also made four 3FGs and scored 18.
• Elliot Cadeau had seven assists and one turnover.
• Davis also made four 3FGs and scored 22 points in the home win over the Orange last season.
• The Tar Heels’ 103 points were the most by UNC against the Orange and most in an ACC game since 2019. The 36-point win was Carolina’s largest in the series.
• Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram both had double-doubles in both games last season.
• Davis has averaged 14.7 points, made 17 of 41 three-pointers (41.5%) and averaged 3.2 assists in six career games against Syracuse.
• Jalen Washington had 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals in the home victory last season.
• Jae’Lyn Withers scored 13 points at Syracuse in 2021-22 while playing for Louisville and has scored in double figures three times vs. the Orange (10 at home last season).
NOTEBOOK
• Carolina has played 12 games this season in which the margin was within five points with 5:00 to play. UNC has led by five or fewer points three times (beat Georgia Tech and lost to Kansas and Stanford) and trailed by five or fewer points eight times (beat Dayton, UCLA, Notre Dame, Boston College and Pitt and lost at Louisville, at Wake Forest and at Pitt). The score was tied once (in the loss to Florida).
• Including last Saturday’s 67-66 win over Pitt, the Tar Heels have played 10 one-possession games (decided by one, two or three points) this season. Those are the most played by the Tar Heels in a season in the three-point era, which began in 1986-87. The 2010-11 team played nine one-possession games and won eight.
• The 10 one-possession games don’t include the overtime win against Boston College, which UNC won, 102-96.
• The Tar Heels’ six one-possession wins this season are the second most in the three-point era. UNC won eight in 2010-11, six this season and five in 1998-99 (5-3), 2002-03 (5-2) and 2016-17 (5-1).
• The losses to Stanford and Wake Forest were just the fourth time ever Carolina lost by a point in back-to-back games. The other instances include the 1929-30 season (Loyola Chicago and Duke), 1940-41 (Fordham and St. Joseph’s) and 1967-68 (South Carolina and Duke).
• In all games, Carolina is second in the ACC in scoring at 80.0 points per game, trailing only SMU in scoring average. However, in ACC play the Tar Heels are ninth in the conference in scoring offense (72.5 ppg) and 10th in points allowed (72.9 ppg).
• Carolina has scored fewer than 75 points in six of the last seven games (all except the 102-96 overtime win over Boston College).
• In 13 ACC games, the Tar Heel defense has held the opponents to just 42.2% shooting from the floor, which is fourth best in the league behind SMU, Wake Forest and Duke.
• Carolina attempted more free throws in nine of the first 13 games this season. In the last 12 games, the opponents have shot more free throws eight times (UNC is 3-5 in those games). • The Tar Heels have shot more free throws in four of the last 12 games – wins over SMU, Cal and Boston College and a loss to Stanford.
• RJ Davis has led UNC in scoring in each of the last seven games. The longest stretch of his career was eight consecutive games last season (from Clemson-Georgia Tech).
• Davis is 44 for 91 from the floor (48.4%) and 18 of 41 from three (43.9%) in the last seven games and has shot 50% or better from the floor in four of the last five games.
• Seth Trimble, a 6-3 guard, leads the Tar Heels in rebounding at 5.4 per game. He is on pace to become the shortest player to lead the Tar Heels in rebounding average since at least 1950. Bud Maddie (1952-53) and Larry Miller (1965-66) were both listed at 6-4.
• Trimble has three point/rebound double-doubles this season (27 points and 10 rebounds vs. Dayton, 18 and 12 vs. Boston College and 10 and 12 at Pitt).
• Ven-Allen Lubin leads UNC in field goal shooting at 70.4% (69 of 98) and has averaged 6.0 rebounds over the last nine games.
• Carolina’s strength of schedule is No. 9 in the country overall (sixth in non-conference games).
• Carolina’s opponents collectively have the sixth-best offensive efficiency and 17th-best defensive efficiency in the nation.
• The Tar Heels have played three of the top five, four of the top 10 and five of the top 11 teams in the February 3 Associated Press poll.
• Carolina has already played No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Florida, No. 9 Michigan State, No. 14 Kentucky and No. 16 Kansas.
SCORING EFFICIENCY
• The Tar Heels are 47th in the country in scoring at 80.0 points per game and 301st in scoring defense (76.6).
• Factoring in pace of play and the number of possessions, Carolina is 52nd in the country in offensive efficiency and 57th in defensive efficiency.
• The Tar Heels are 9-1 this season when holding opponents below 105 points per 100 possessions. Wake Forest (92.0 ppp) is the only team to beat UNC despite scoring fewer than 105 points per 100 possessions.
• Opponents have produced the three highest offensive efficiencies against the Tar Heels in the last five games (134.3 by Duke, 127.7 by Boston College and 121.5 by Clemson).
• Carolina is shooting 55.1% from two-point range, its highest two-point percentage since the 1997-98 ACC champion and NCAA East Regional champion Tar Heels shot 56.5% from two-point range.
• The Tar Heels are shooting 32.3% from three, the fourth-lowest percentage in UNC history.
• Carolina is 12-4 this season when it makes 30% or better from three-point range and 2-7 (wins over Georgia Tech and Notre Dame) when it makes less than 30% of its three-point attempts. That includes the loss at Clemson, when UNC made 4 of 19 (21.1%).
• The Tar Heels have shot 31 for 114 (27.2%) from three-point range in their last five losses.
WINS AND LOSSES
• In Carolina’s 14 wins the Tar Heels are shooting 9.6% higher from the floor than their opponents (49.5 to 39.9%). In the losses, the opponents are out-shooting the Tar Heels 47.0 to 43.8%.
• The opponents average 83.8 points in UNC’s losses and just 70.9 in the Tar Heels’ wins.
• Carolina is plus 5.1 rebounds per game in its wins and minus 3.1 per game on the boards in the losses. The opponents have out-rebounded the Tar Heels in seven of the 11 losses.
• Carolina is shooting 35.7% from three in its wins and 28.0% in the losses.
• RJ Davis averages 17.6 points in Carolina’s victories and 17.2 in the losses.
• Carolina is 7-3 when it makes the same number or more three-pointers and is 7-8 when the opponents make more 3FGs.
• The Tar Heels are 9-4 when they attempt 20 or more free throws and 5-7 when attempting fewer than 20.
• UNC is 8-2 when it makes more free throws (losses to Kansas and Stanford) and 6-9 when making an equal amount or fewer free throws.
TAR HEELS AND THE ACC
• Carolina is a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• This is the 72nd season of ACC men’s basketball.
• UNC has won the regular-season championship 33 times, including the 2023-24 season, when the Tar Heels went 17-3 to win the title outright for the 22nd time. Duke is second with 20 regular-season titles.
• The Tar Heels are 765-319 all-time in ACC regular-season play. The 765 wins are the most by any team.
• RJ Davis was the 2024 ACC Player of the Year and Hubert Davis was the Coach of the Year.
• Davis is the first Player of the Year to return the following season since UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough won the award in 2008 and came back for his senior season in 2009, when he led the Tar Heels to an NCAA title.
MORE MILESTONES FOR RJ
• RJ Davis and Duke’s Cooper Flagg are the only players in the top 10 in the ACC in both scoring and assists.
• Davis leads Carolina and is ninth in the ACC in scoring at 17.4 points per game and is ninth in the league in assists at 3.8 per game.
• Davis has played in 163 games over five seasons. He is second in games by a Tar Heel behind Armando Bacot’s ACC-record 169. Davis and Bacot played five seasons due to Covid-19.
• The White Plains, N.Y., native is averaging a career-high 3.8 assists this season. His previous season bests were 3.6 per game in 2021-22 and 3.5 last season.
• Davis is Carolina’s all-time leader and is ninth in ACC history with 327 three-pointers. Randolph Childress (Wake Forest) is eighth with 329.
• Davis is averaging 14.2 field goal attempts per game this season. Last year, he averaged 16.4. He is attempting 6.6 threes per game (7.7 per game last season).
• Davis is the second-leading scorer in Carolina history with 2,523 points. He passed Armando Bacot, who also played in five seasons, for second place in the win at Notre Dame on January 4.
• Davis is sixth in ACC career scoring. He passed Virginia’s Bryant Stith for sixth (2,516) at Clemson. Duke’s Johnny Dawkins is fourth (2,556) and NC State’s Rodney Monroe is fifth (2,551).
• He has the highest free throw percentage ever by a Tar Heel (86.0%). That is 11th best in ACC history.
• Davis’ 29-point outing vs. Florida on December 17 made him the highest scoring guard in Carolina history, eclipsing the mark held by Phil Ford.
• Davis’ career scoring average is 15.5, the eighth-highest by a Tar Heel guard.
• Last year, Davis became the 19th Tar Heel to earn consensus first-team All-America honors. Those 19 players have won consensus first-team All-America honors a total of 28 times.
• Davis joined Lennie Rosenbluth in 1957, Phil Ford in 1978, Michael Jordan in 1983 and 1984, Kenny Smith in 1987, Jerry Stackhouse in 1995, Antawn Jamison in 1998, Joseph Forte in 2001 and Tyler Hansbrough in 2008 and 2009 as the only Tar Heels to make first-team All-America on each of the teams the NCAA recognizes to determine consensus first-team All-America.
SMITH CENTER
• This is the 40th season the Tar Heels are playing in the Dean E. Smith Center.
• Carolina is 9-2 in the Smith Center this season and 486-89 (.845) all-time.
• The Tar Heels are 254-70 against ACC opponents in the Smith Center.
NOVEMBER SIGNEES
• Carolina signed Isaiah Denis of Concord, N.C., and Derek Dixon of Vienna, Va.
• Denis is a 6-5 guard at Davidson Day High School in Davidson, N.C. His parents are Nancy Denis and Frantz Denis, and he plays AAU for CP3.
• Dixon, the son of John and Kari Dixon, is a 6-3 guard at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He also plays AAU for Team Takeover.