UNC coach Roy Williams might have had something a few days again when he said his Tar Heels couldn’t stand prosperity. Coming off a key comeback victory over ACC leader Florida State, the Tar Heels went up to Syracuse and fell 72-70. (3/1)

The Orange scored 28 points off 20 UNC turnovers while the Heels scored only nine off 11 Syracuse turnovers.

Coach Williams admitted that the turnovers have been frustrating as he credited Syracuse for their 15 steals and nine blocks. “Their defense was much stronger than our offense today,” he said

Carolina also struggled mightily from beyond the arc, hitting just four of 20 three pointers while Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim alone was 6 of 13 en route to a game-high 26 points.

The Orange went on an 11-0 run at the end of the first half to take a 34-28 halftime edge after the Tar Heels had actually led by nine with under seven minutes left in the opening stanza.

The Tar Heels seemed to have righted the ship with an 8-1 run to start the second half but Syracuse quickly went on an 15-2 run of its own to take command at 50-38.

Syracuse extended the margin to 14 before Carolina started a scrambling comeback. With less than two minutes to go, Leaky Black hit a free throw, missed the second and Carolina came up with the ball. Caleb Love almost immediately sank a rare three to cut the score to 68-62.

R.J. Davis hit a three and followed it up 25 seconds later with a driving layup after Carolina pressure created a steal to make it a two-point game at 70-68 with 19 seconds left.

Syracuse’s Joseph Girard, an 80 percent free throw shooter, hit one of two with 13 seconds left.

Carolina had a chance to tie it but Syracuse chose to foul Love. Coach Williams said he planned for Love to miss the second free throw in an attempt to tie it or take the lead at the buzzer. But, alas, Love missed the first and second free throws ending the threat.

Garrison Brooks scored at the border for the final tally.

Carolina, led by Armando Bacot’s 18 points and 15 rebounds, fall to 15-9 and 9-6 in the ACC while Syracuse, squarely on the NCAA bubble, improves to 14-8 and 8-7 in the league.

The Tar Heels end the regular season Saturday at home against rival Duke.

For a box score and more on the game, please click here.