Their roster might be struggling at the moment thanks to injuries running rampant on several players, but the North Carolina Tar Heels are still finding ways to win games and keep things moving in the ACC. The team took down the Florida State Seminoles despite being without several bodies to keep their win streak extending to five games. Now they aim to rise above their No. 13 ranking and beat a Syracuse team who have lost two of their last three games.
The Tar Heels have health issues that could hurt them down the road when conference tournaments begin. Theo Pinson has been ruled out indefinitely following a broken foot. Joel Berry II has a strained groin, Stilman White has a stress fracture while Luke Davis, Sasha Seymore and Joel James are all dealing with issues as well. That left the Tar Heels to play Florida State with just seven players logging double-digit minutes. Nate Britt was forced into 14 minutes despite having injuries in warmups while Brice Johnson got 18 points and 14 rebounds with a back injury.
North Carolina is still shooting well. The team is currently averaging 78.5 points on 51.9 percent shooting in their last four games after averaging just 72.0 points on 41.5 percent shooting. Marcus Paige is being relied on heavily despite having plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He is currently averaging 15.5 points per game while going 11 of 21 from long range in his last four games.
North Carolina has a tough schedule ahead with games against Louisville and Virginia, but will first face Syracuse who are currently giving up 69.0 points to opponents after limiting them to just 53.7 points per game in their last six matchups. Syracuse is struggling on both sides of the ball. They missed 13 of 15 3-point shots in a loss to Clemson while also getting outrebounded 40-30. Rakeem Christmas continues to be the most dominant player on the roster, putting up 23 points and eight rebounds in the loss to Miami.
