GREENSBORO, N.C. _ North Carolina is out of the ACC tournament and its season is likely over.
Syracuse dominated UNC in the second round at Greensboro Coliseum Wednesday night. The Orange took a 21-point lead into halftime and never looked back, winning, 81-53.
Syracuse guard Elijah Hughes scored 27 points. UNC junior forward Garrison Brooks had 18 points.
The Tar Heels' loss likely ends one of the most disappointing seasons in program history. Plagued by injuries to key players, and poor offense, the Tar Heels lost 19 games, the second-most in program history. They likely won't be invited to any post-season tournaments. Definitely not the NCAA Tournament. And probably the NIT, either.
The last time that happened was in 2002, when the Tar Heels finished 8-20. That was also the last time UNC finished with a losing season.
The Tar Heels' road to the NCAA Tournament was already going to be difficult. As a 14-seed, its lowest seed in program history, UNC had to win five games in five days, something no other ACC team has done.
Some thought the Tar Heels had a chance to make a run, or at least get to the quarterfinal game against No. 3 seeded Louisville. They were catching fire at the right time, having won four of their last five games, which included a 92-79 road win over Syracuse on Feb. 29.
But on Wednesday night, the Tar Heels did not look like the same team that had won those games. Syracuse got out to an early 7-0 lead in the first 70 seconds of the game. Two of the Tar Heels' starters _ Brandon Robinson and Leaky Black _ got into early foul trouble, and had to sit much of the first half.
That allowed the Orange to take advantage when those players had to sit. Both Robinson and Black have been critical for UNC. Black because of his defense, and Robinson because of his 3-point shooting.
Robinson scored 17 points and was 5 of 6 from 3 in the Tar Heels' 78-56 win over Virginia Tech on Tuesday.
But he played sparingly in the first half with foul trouble. Robinson finished with four points, and was 0 of 3 from 3.
Freshman guard Cole Anthony, who was averaging a team-high 19.1 points per game, also struggled against Syracuse's zone defense. He finished with five points on 2-of-10 shooting.
It could be his last game of his college career. He is a projected lottery pick in the 2020 NBA draft and has a decision to make.
The Tar Heels trailed by only 4 points with 6:47 left in the first half. But they went through a five-minute scoring drought, and allowed Syracuse to go on a 19-2 run, and went into halftime with a 43-22. The Tar Heels had never come down 20 points this season.
And they didn't do it on Wednesday, either.
There Tar Heels never quit, but they just didn't have it on Wednesday. They missed easy shots and contested ones. They shot 33% from the floor and 13% from 3.
The Tar Heels carved up Syracuse's zone in a 92-79 win on Feb. 29 at the Carrier Dome. They finished with a season-high 11 3-pointers. But they had no such success on Wednesday. They were 2 of 16 from 3.
Wednesday night's game was the last game that will be played in front of fans. ACC announced on Wednesday afternoon that it would close its remaining games to spectators in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus disease.
