UNC Basketball: Biggest Takeaways from ACC Clash vs. Syracuse

The North Carolina Tar Heels passed the first of three major tests in a row Monday with a 93-83 win over Syracuse. 

The Tar Heels played a sloppy first half against the struggling Orange, but they cleaned their game up enough to breeze past the visitors in the second stanza. 

Four North Carolina players scored over 17 points in its seventh ACC win of the season, but it still has to work on a few things before the trip to Louisville Saturday. 

Below is a look at the biggest takeaways from the ACC clash with Syracuse. 

Nate Britt Is Ready To Be The Guy Off The Bench 

Sophomore guard Nate Britt delivered his best performance of the season Monday night, as he scored 17 points and shot 5-of-7 from the field. 

The victory over Jim Boeheim's team also saw Britt collect his highest number of minutes played this season. He featured in 26 of the 40 minutes in the North Carolina backcourt, which was five more than his previous high against Louisville. 

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Britt's emergence as a key contributor came at a perfect time for North Carolina, whose guard depth was damaged by the Theo Pinson injury news last week. 

In the big games against Louisville and Virginia over the next week, the Tar Heels will need a second guard to make plenty of baskets with the defensive focus pointed at Marcus Paige. 

If Britt is able to thrive off the pine in those two games, the Tar Heels may be able to develop a deadly scoring combination in the backcourt with him and Paige. 

Roy Williams' Halftime Message Worked

To say North Carolina head coach Roy Williams wasn't pleased with his team's first-half performance is a massive understatement. 

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In his interview with ESPN's Allison Williams before the start of the second half, Williams called his team "soft" and "terrible": 

The motivation for the anger-infused rant at the half was North Carolina's brutal number in the turnover department. The 13 first-half turnovers committed by the Tar Heels was a higher total than they recorded in 11 full games: 

Whatever the North Carolina head coach said in the locker room before his interview must have lit a spark in his team, as they scored 58 points in the second half. 

The Tar Heels scored 10 points before the first media timeout of the half and kept firing until they took the lead for good with 8:09 left in the game. 

When the final buzzer sounded, the Tar Heels had committed a total of 20 turnovers, which is still not an acceptable number. But they were able to keep their losses at a minimum during the second half.

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The response by the Tar Heels to their coach's halftime talk proved the players are able to respond to adversity in a strong fashion. 

The second-half showing by the Tar Heels handed them a ton of momentum heading into the big games against Louisville and Virginia. It also delivered a message to the team, who can't concede over 20 turnovers again for the rest of the season. 

Big Contributions in the Paint 

The one storyline that may have escaped everyone Monday night because of the guard play and the turnover issue was the performance of the big men in the paint. 

Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson combined to score 34 points and pull down 19 rebounds in the win over Syracuse. The frontcourt duo also combined to shoot 12-of-19 from the field and 10-of-16 from the free-throw line. 

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While Meeks' numbers have been fairly consistent for most of the season, Johnson has come to life over the past six games. 

In four of his last six contests, the junior forward has recorded a double-double, including his 17 points and 11 rebounds against Syracuse. 

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If Johnson continues to star in the paint alongside Meeks, the Tar Heels will be tough to handle for the rest of the season. 

The biggest test of that statement will come Saturday against Louisville's Montrezl Harrell. If Johnson and Meeks can outperform one of the best frontcourt players in the nation, they should start to garner more attention. 

Follow Joe on Twitter @JTansey90.