No. 1 Syracuse (9-1, 3-0 ACC) at No. 17 North Carolina (6-5, 1-1 ACC)
When: Saturday, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Last time: April 16, 2016, Syracuse won 13-7; April 29, 2016 10-7
With their 15-12 win over Virginia last Saturday, the North Carolina Tar Heels have secured a spot in the ACC Tournament, which, as an opportunity to obtain multiple wins against multiple top-ten opponents, is especially great for them. Sitting at 6-5 with a season finale at Notre Dame up next, maintaining that winning record is of the utmost concern; you don’t want to have to count on running the table in order to merely be eligible for the NCAA tournament. As it often seems to go these days, a big win one week just means an even bigger opponent the next time, and so the Tar Heels now must host the Syracuse Orange for their final home game of the season. Syracuse has won seven of the last eight games against North Carolina, and a win this weekend would give the Orange the top seed in the ACC tournament.
For the first time in six weeks, the top-ranked program managed to win its first game since donning the crown, the Orange defeating Cornell 15-8 on Tuesday night. Jordan Evans (12, 15) led the way with three goals and two assists, his best performance since an eight-point season opener against Siena. Nate Solomon (21, 3) and Nick Mariano (26, 14) each recorded hat tricks against the Big Red, while Sergio Salcido (10, 25) handed out three assists. Speaking of assists, last year the Orange averaged 7 assists per game. This year, that number is up by almost two per game, and Salcido, Mariano and Evans have all surpassed their assist totals from last season. North Carolina averaged 6.5 assists per game last year, and is down to 5.4 this season, but recorded nine against Virginia last weekend (if that has more to do with them or their opponent is really asking you’re a glass half full or half empty kind of Tar Heel fan).
Ben Williams, who entered the game winning an uncharacteristic 53% of face-offs this season, went 19-25 with 11 groundballs in the win over Cornell. If Tuesday’s performance indicates a return to form for Williams, it’s not a moment too soon, as ACC Co-defensive Player of the Week Stephen Kelly (59%) went 23-30 against Virginia last weekend, his 23 wins and 15 ground balls both tying school records.
