Syracuse Orange v. NC State ACC Tourney Prediction & Preview (3/13/24)
Syracuse (20-11) enters ACC Tournament play when they take on North Carolina State (18-14) in the second round.
Opponent: North Carolina State (18-14)
Date & Time: Wednesday, Mar. 13, 7:00 pm Eastern
Location: Capital One Arena, Washington DC
TV: ESPN2
PREDICTION
Syracuse, the seventh seed in the ACC Tournament, swept the season series with #10-seed North Carolina State, winning at home in late January, 77-65, and again on the road less than four weeks later, 87-83. Wednesday’s third contest has a quarterfinal date on the line, as second-seeded Duke (24-7) awaits the winner (7:00pm Eastern Thursday, ESPN).
J.J. Starling led the way for the Orange in the first meeting, hitting four 3’s en route to 26 points, and Chris Bell had 26 points in the second matchup, knocking down eight 3-pointers. D.J. Horne topped the Wolfpack in both games, compiling 47 points in the two outings against SU, but did not play their 94-85 first round victory over Louisville after suffering a hip flexor injury in their previous game.
Led by those two sharpshooting perimeter efforts, Syracuse nailed 45.7 percent of their attempts from behind the arc in those two games against N.C. State. The ‘Pack has struggled defending the 3 much of the season, allowing their opponents to shoot over 35 percent from beyond the arc, including allowing a 41.0 percent mark in their last nine outings and a 10-of-18 mark by Louisville in Tuesday’s first round game.
Horne’s potential absence will place a little additional pressure on North Carolina State to get off to a better start Wednesday night against the Orange than they did during the regular season. The Orange held comfortable halftime leads of 16 and 15 points in the two games and even built the margin in the first matchup to 21 points before coasting home. In the second game, the Wolfpack trailed by 16 points, but briefly took the lead on the strength of 7-0 and 12-2 second half runs before fading in the final moments.
N.C. State has been in a tailspin for much of the last two months. After getting out to a 13-4 start, they have lost ten of their last 15 games with a one-point win at Clemson being the only one against a team that did not finish behind them in the standings. SU, on the other hand, has won six of nine games, relying on their offense to outscore their opponents to claim those victories.
It should be a simple plan for the Orange to make it three wins over the ‘Pack on the season. Avoid any rust from their long layoff to get out of the blocks quickly, something they know they can do against this opponent, and slow down Horne if he plays.
North Carolina State has played twice in the last four days while SU has been preparing for the tournament for over a week. Syracuse exploits that difference in rest and relies on their confidence to win, 82-74.
----
Chat about this story and all things Syracuse and Syracuse recruiting on our premium message board, Cuse Classified!
Follow us on Twitter @TheJuiceOnline, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram @SUJuiceOnline and listen to our podcast.
Tips/questions/concerns? E-mail Recruiting Analyst Charles Kang here.
Not a subscriber to The Juice Online? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community.