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The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team will face the North Carolina Tar Heels Monday at 7 p.m. ET. Syracuse is 1-4 in its past five games against UNC, and 3-14 against the Tar Heels since 2015.
Syracuse vs. North Carolina will air on ESPN. Fans can stream live with fuboTV (free trial) and other live TV services.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: NCAA men’s basketball regular season
Who: Syracuse Orange vs. No. 14 North Carolina Tar Heels
When: Monday, Feb. 2, 2026
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV: ESPN
Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DIRECTV (free trial)
The Orange (13-9, 4-5 ACC) snapped their four-game losing streak Saturday against Notre Dame. Syracuse won 86-72, led by Nate Kingz’s career-high 28 points. The senior Oregon State transfer made 5-of-10 3-pointers in 36 minutes.
Fellow Syracuse guard J.J. Starling scored 21 points Saturday, shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep. It’s his second 20-point game in 20 games this season. For reference, Starling had 10 20-point games in 26 games last season.
Point guard Naithan George didn’t score much, but still had one of his better games of the season. The Georgia Tech transfer had 10 assists to zero turnovers in the win. George has struggled with turnovers throughout the season, he’s had six games with six or more turnovers this season.
“I thought Naithan George and JJ really set the tone,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “I thought we got the ball out of our hand. I thought we made quicker decisions. The pace, the cuts, everything was good. We haven’t moved like that in a while. This is what we envisioned. We need to do it more, not just in spots.”
Syracuse’s leading scorer Donnie Freeman came off the bench in Saturday’s win. The sophomore big had seven points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. Autry called it “nothing but a strategic game plan.”
After the four-game losing streak Autry wanted to shake things up, and it worked in Syracuse’s favor. The Orange have a much tougher test against the No. 14 Tar Heels (17-4, 5-3 ACC) Monday night.
Can I bet on the game?
Betting is unavailable for in-state college teams in New York, but we’ve compiled some of the best introductory offers to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and more.
