North Carolina outlasts Syracuse, clinches double-bye in ACC Tournament
North Carolina needed overtime to beat Syracuse in Chapel Hill on Monday night.
The Tar Heels eventually prevailed 88-79 in overtime after a chaotic final minute of regulation.
Down by one point in the final seconds, Caleb Love nailed a deep 3-pointer to give UNC the lead. However, Syracuse had enough time to sprint down the court and tie the game before the buzzer.
Here’s that sequence:
WHAT A SEQUENCE AT THE END OF REGULATION 😮 pic.twitter.com/yVngallElw
— ESPN (@espn) March 1, 2022
North Carolina dominated the overtime period, scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Love struggled for most of this game, but was instrumental down the stretch. In addition to his game-saving bucket at the end of regulation, he scored 8 points in overtime. He finished with 21 points.
Brady Manek was also instrumental in this game. He finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He operated from the high post and was key to breaking down Syracuse’s patented zone defense.
North Carolina clinched a top-four seed — and therefore a double-bye — in the ACC Tournament, which is set to begin next week. That puts UNC in a good position to make at least the semi finals of the conference tournament.
The Tar Heels end their regular season at Duke on Saturday.