By JOSH NEWMANSpecial to ZAGSBLOG Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim has already said he would like for his team to play in the NCAA East Regional at Madison Square Garden in late March. While it is still a little early to worry about who will play in what region, the Orange have held up their end of the bargain as a potential No. 1 seed down the road. On Saturday, the second-ranked Orange moved to 16-0 with a convincing 57-45 thrashing of the University of North Carolina in front of the sixth-largest crowd in Carrier Dome history, 32, 121. ACC Preseason Player of the Year C.J. Fair led four players in double figures with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Jerami Grant had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Syracuse, which registered its fourth-best start since Boeheim took over at his Alma mater in 1976-77. “C.J Fair, he’s a great player,” Boeheim told ESPN’s Dan Shulman after the game. “He’s been there for us every game for four years. Sometimes people forget about those four-year guys, but he’s been there for us. We really battled Carolina, we really did. They needed this game and they came in fired up ready to go. We battled it.” Syracuse (16-0, 3-0 ACC) did not shoot well, going 35 percent from the field and just 21.1 percent from 3-point range. However, the Orange’s vaunted 2-3 zone proved effective as the Tar Heels (10-6, 0-3 ACC) shot 39.2 percent from the floor, 16.7 percent from 3-point range and turned the ball over 14 times. North Carolina, which has wins over then-No. 3 Louisville on a neutral floor, then-No. 11 Kentucky in Chapel Hill and at then-No. 1 Michigan St., is now 0-3 in conference play for the first time 1996-97. That team, led by Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter and Shammond Williams gathered itself to finish 11-5 in the ACC before advancing to the Final Four. “Neither team made shots and when you don’t make shots, you need to find a way to win and we were able to make enough good plays to win the game,” Boeheim said. “That’s all you can do. It’s such a long season, you’re gonna have games where you don’t shoot well and somehow, you have to find a way to win those games. We’re happy to get this win.” Orange freshman point guard Tyler Ennis added 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds as he continues to try to make a case for himself as ACC Rookie of the Year. The former St. Benedict’s Prep standout by way of Brampton, Ontario came into the day averaging 11.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per contest. At this point, the presumed ACC Rookie of the Year is Jabari Parker, who is averaging 19.8 points and 7.6 rebounds. The Chicago native is currently slotted as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by DraftExpress. Syracuse still has several high-profile games in conference play, none bigger than Feb. 1 when Duke visits the Carrier Dome for what has been one of the college basketball season’s more heavily hyped contests. Syracuse is at Duke on Feb. 22, has two games against Pittsburgh (Jan. 18, Feb. 12) and will host Notre Dame (Feb. 3) and NC State (Feb. 15). The Duke-Syracuse game on Feb. 1 is the headliner of a massive Super Bowl Eve slate of basketball. Madison Square Garden will host a triple-header that day that with St. John’s-Marquette and Georgetown-Michigan St. preceding Knicks-Heat. Also on Super Bowl Eve, Ohio St. is at Wisconsin, Baylor visits Oklahoma St. and Kentucky travels to Missouri. Follow Josh Newman on Twitter
