Top-ranked Syracuse is the reigning back-to-back conference champion in the ACC, and Friday will start the Orange's pursuit of a third straight.
Syracuse (11-1, 4-0) travels to Durham, North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels (6-7, 1-3) in the first round of the ACC tournament. The winner will take on either Duke or Notre Dame in the final.
While the Orange holds the ACC crown, the Tar Heels hold the NCAA crown, knocking off Maryland in the final a season ago to win the national title. This season has been a major drop off for North Carolina though, as they enter the game with a losing record. Syracuse has won the last four matchups between these two.
SU vs. UNC begins at 6. Countdown to Faceoff starts at 5:30 only on 88.3 FM, WAER.
'Cuse enters the game on a nine-game win streak, most of them coming by just a single goal. North Carolina is heading in the opposite direction, having lost four of its last five games. Despite the free fall for UNC, it still hangs onto the last spot in the rankings at 20th.
These two sides met almost two weeks ago in Chapel Hill. Syracuse pulled off a stunning comeback from down 10-5 to beat the Tar Heels in overtime, 12-11. Sergio Salcido scored the game-winner to complete a hat trick on the afternoon. Goalie Evan Malloy extended his record to 7-0 against ACC foes as well with the win.
The Orange has a tendency to play close games, having nine games that finished with a one-goal margin. Syracuse won eight of them with the only loss coming against Army West Point back in February.
If Syracuse hopes to repeat its result against North Carolina, it will need to cut down on penalty minutes. The Orange racked up 4:30 of man down scenarios in the last meeting between these two teams. Three of UNC's goals came on man-up opportunities.
One area that the Orange could look to exploit the Tar Heels is in the turnover battle. 'Cuse narrowly edged North Carolina last time around, but having committed the fifth fewest turnovers per game in the nation, the margin could be wider this time around.
The narrative of Syracuse knocking off North Carolina to reach the ACC final might seem familiar because that is what the Orange has done the last two years. Each time, they have advanced to face Duke.