North Carolina Tops Syracuse in Battle of Teams With Stature and Stigma
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Version 0 of 1. HOUSTON — Renegades, that’s what they were, banding together in opposition and commiseration Saturday night, like enemies slowly realizing that their differences were outweighed by what they had in common. With Hall of Fame coaches, blue-chip recruits, sizzling brand names and a shared propensity for running afoul of N.C.A.A. regulations, North Carolina and Syracuse were irresistible bedfellows on the Final Four stage, college basketball’s marquee event. They were both representatives of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and of the products of the N.C.A.A.’s investigative influence, which might be described as bittersweet. Last season’s penalties motivated Syracuse, and the threat of sanctions hardened Carolina. So here they were. Ultimately, it was the Tar Heels, the last No. 1 seed remaining in this N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament, who prolonged their dominating campaign with a decisive win over the underdog Orange, 83-66, at NRG Stadium. North Carolina (33-6) will face Villanova on Monday and try to win its first national title since 2009 and its sixth over all. The Tar Heels wore down Syracuse, a No. 10 seed, with a relentless offensive attack featuring four players who scored at least 13 points. It was the team’s fifth straight win by least 14 points. “Needless to say,” North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said, “we’re ecstatic.” The Orange shot 40.9 percent from the field and were outscored, 50-32, in the paint. Syracuse (23-14) excused itself from the tournament last year as a self-imposed punishment for infractions the program had committed over the course of nearly a decade. When the N.C.A.A. levied its sanctions, last March, they included a nine-game suspension for Coach Jim Boeheim, now in his 40th year. Those games were disappointing for Syracuse — it lost five of them — and torturous for Boeheim, who was barred from any contact with the team or its staff members. He would watch the games from home, screaming at the television, effectively under house arrest. The acrimony with which he responded to his relatively short respite raised questions about whether Boeheim, 71, might really be ready to retire after the 2017-18 season, as he has said is his intention. He said last week that he was in good health, thanks to Pilates and a new weight-lifting routine. His passion on the sidelines has not receded. “I told the players after the game that I’m more proud of this team than any I’ve ever coached,” Boeheim said. Retirement questions have also haunted North Carolina’s 65-year-old coach, Roy Williams, as his program waits for the end of the N.C.A.A.’s investigation into long-running academic fraud — and waits, and waits, and waits. Williams, for his part, sidestepped questions about the inquiry last week but bristled at any suggestion that it had adversely affected his health. “I’ve got a head cold right now, a sinus infection, two bum knees,” Williams said before the game, “and never felt better in my life than I feel right now.” The Tar Heels opened 0 of 10 from 3-point range, including three early misses by the senior point guard Marcus Paige. But Carolina’s defense forced Syracuse into a cold spell, and Carolina went on a 9-0 run late in the half. The Tar Heels’ frontcourt of Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks combined for 23 points and 11 rebounds to help the Tar Heels take a 39-28 lead into halftime. In the locker room, Williams pointed to the stat sheet. He had written three items on the whiteboard before the game: space the floor, box out, and know the personnel. The Tar Heels were doing those things, just not hitting outside shots. So Williams implored his players to focus on where they were already succeeding. “Inside, we were 17 of 25 in the first half,” Paige said. “Forget the 0 for 10.” When the teams reconvened on the court after halftime, Boeheim approached Williams and asked if his team was going to keep shooting. “I said yes,” Williams said, “because North Carolina tries to have good balance inside and outside.” Although they missed their first two 3-point attempts in the second half, the Tar Heels’ shots eventually began to fall. The lead grew to 16 within minutes, but no one expected the Orange to feel daunted. Few teams had had more improbable ascensions than Syracuse, the fourth double-digit seed to reach the Final Four. The Orange’s 13 losses this season put them in a tie for the most by a Final Four team. The Orange had demonstrated a knack for comebacks, having rebounded from double-digit deficits in their two previous games, against Gonzaga and Virginia. They were led by Trevor Cooney, the only player in program history to appear in two Final Fours. Behind Cooney (22 points), Syracuse trimmed North Carolina’s lead to 9 with 8 minutes 44 seconds remaining. But while the Orange tried to force the tempo, they had to contend with Carolina’s ability in the open floor and on the glass, with the Tar Heels outrebounding them, 43-31. “They’re just too big and strong and good,” Boeheim said. “They’ve got a great basketball team.” With six minutes left, the Orange went into their press, which had worked wonders against Virginia. But this was an A.C.C. opponent that could handle it. “We hoped” they would press, Williams said. “That probably meant we were ahead.” The two coaches met in the national title game 13 years ago, while Williams was at Kansas. Carmelo Anthony led the Orange past the Jayhawks then, handing Boeheim his first championship. But he had a word with Williams before he could celebrate: “You’re going to get one, too.” Indeed, Williams eventually won two titles with the Tar Heels, in 2005 and 2009. But they had yet to meet again in the N.C.A.A. tournament, until Saturday. And Williams got his revenge. |