The Tar Heels stay perfect at home this season in Roy Williams’ milestone victory.
UNC picked up another conference victory at home Monday night against the Syracuse Orange in Roy Williams’ 800th career victory as a head coach. The Tar Heels seemed in control of the game the whole time, thanks to some really impressive performances by their big men.
Isaiah Hicks played 30 minutes without picking up a single personal foul. He scored 20 points for the second straight game, which was his first back-to-back 20+ point performances of his career. Kennedy Meeks turned in another double-double performance with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The big guys needed to stay out of foul trouble with Tony Bradley benched for another game with a concussion, and they managed to do just that.
It was a pretty balanced attack all around with Justin Jackson also hitting the double-double mark with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Joel Berry II was uncharacteristically quiet, but started the game off with a bang with a three-pointer that really set the tone.
Syracuse’s Tyler Lydon was unstoppable for the Orange, scoring 26 points and making three three-pointers. It was his effort that kept Syracuse as close as they were. UNC scored 46 points in the paint and 20 second chance points, thanks to their strong rebounding effort.
The game was an important one for Roy Williams, marking his 800th win as head coach. He is the second-fastest to the mark in history behind Adolph Rupp. UNC honored Williams with messages from former players, a commemorative 800 jersey, and some very special Jordans from The Man himself. It was a great night to celebrate the history of Carolina basketball and how fortunate we are as fans to have seen two of the greatest coaches in history at the helm of the program.
Carolina travels to Boston College on Saturday for a matchup with the Eagles at noon ET.
