ACC Tournament: North Carolina v. Syracuse

Who will WIN this matchup?

North Carolina Tar Heels (14-18)

Syracuse Orange (17-14)

Current odds:

North Carolina Tar Heels: (-155)

Syracuse Orange: (+135)

• The line for this game is North Carolina by 3 points.

• North Carolina may be the 14th seed in this season’s ACC tournament, but no team may be no more dangerous than the streaking Tar Heels. North Carolina blasted Virginia Tech 78-56 with a dominant second half to win for the fourth time in five games after a seven-game losing streak, and now will play sixth-seeded Syracuse on Wednesday in the second round at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum. “Teams understand that we can play good and we have a chance, and it’s okay if teams underestimate us, because we’re coming to play,” Tar Heels forward Garrison Brooks told reporters after scoring 20 points against the Hokies. North Carolina shot 54.8 percent in the second half and Brandon Robinson drained three 3-pointers in less than a two-minute stretch to help the Tar Heels pull away after a six-point halftime advantage.

• Like North Carolina, Syracuse will likely need to run the table to get into the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season after losses to North Carolina and Miami (Fla.) in its last three games. Joe Girard (13 points, 2-10 from 3-point range) and Buddy Boeheim (12 points, 2-10) shot a combined 4-of-20 from behind the 3-point line Saturday in the 69-65 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.

• Robinson (12.1 points), a senior guard, wasn’t ready for his career to end, scoring 17 points and draining 5-of-6 from beyond the arc against the Hokies and freshman Armando Bacot (9.7 points, 8.3 rebounds) added his 11th double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Brooks (16.8 points, 8.7 rebounds), selected the ACC’s Most Improved Player, reached 20 points for the seventh consecutive game (24.1 points) and 12th time this season. The junior had 26 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in a 92-79 win over Syracuse on Feb. 29 while Cole Anthony added 25 points, seven 3-pointers and seven assists.

• Junior forward Elijah Hughes (ACC-high 18.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists) was named first team All-ACC this week, and he is expected to play Wednesday after sitting out the second half of the Miami loss with a head injury. Boeheim (15.3 points) is the Orange’s top deep threat, leading the ACC in 3-point attempts (258) and 3-pointers (3.1 per game) while shooting 36.8 percent, but Syracuse has shot just 27.3 percent as a team in 322 attempts from behind the arc since Jan. 15. “Maybe we’re not a good 3-point shooting team,” coach Jim Boeheim told reporters. “The evidence is there.”

• The winner plays third-seeded Louisville on Thursday in the quarterfinals.

• In conference games, Syracuse is shooting 30.8 percent from behind the arc, 12th in the ACC and its lowest in league games since 2014-15 (30.7).

• Anthony, who had 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting against Virginia Tech, was held to nine points on 4-of-14 shooting in the regular-season finale against Duke. However, in his six games prior to the Blue Devils, the freshman averaged 21.7 points on 50.6 percent shooting, including 47.5 percent from behind the arc.