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Judah Mintz’s performances down the stretch helped Syracuse put away two weak conference opponents in Boston College and Florida State, getting the Orange back into rhythm before the finality of the regular season. Now, the Orange face NC State for the first and only time this season before Duke travels to the JMA Wireless Dome this upcoming Saturday.

The Wolfpack are running through Atlantic Coast Conference opponents after going 4-16 in conference play last season, winning five of their last seven games. Terquavion Smith has transformed the offense into the second-best in the ACC, one that averages 78.9 points per game.

Here’s what our beat writers expect to happen when Syracuse faces NC State:

Anish Vasudevan (20-5)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
NC State 82, Syracuse 78

The Orange have had close encounter after close encounter with the ACC’s best. But they haven’t discovered how to defeat any of the conference’s top teams. After finishing with the worst record in the ACC last season, the Wolfpack have maintained a spot in the top 5 of the conference rankings this year.

Smith leads the conference in field goals made this year and scored 25 points against the Orange last season. He’s going to be an issue for SU again, and even if he’s stopped, Jarkel Joiner could be as lethal as Smith from the field.

Syracuse will keep it close, but Smith will likely take over the game late and go head to head with Mintz and Joe Girard III offensively. If Jesse Edwards can string together a second straight double-double, and not get into foul trouble, he could help SU near the end as well. Still, it probably won’t be enough and Syracuse will keep looking in from the mediocrity of the ACC for another week.

Connor Smith (22-3)
Not enough D
NC State 80, Syracuse 73

Syracuse had a chance to pick up two wins over struggling ACC programs — and was able to do that — before getting a six-day layoff in preparation of a four-game gauntlet that includes No. 22 NC State, Duke, Clemson and Pitt. KenPom predicts that SU will lose each of those games, though none by more than seven points. The Orange have been in “must-win” territory for a while now, and a few upsets during this stretch could help them get to 20 wins and closer to the NCAA Tournament bubble.

The problem is that NC State is a good team, one that can score with anyone and rarely turns the ball over. The Wolfpack have scored 90 or more points in six games this season, including on Saturday in a 30-point win over Boston College and lead the ACC in points per game. Syracuse’s defense has been playing better as of late — giving up fewer than 70 points in each of its past three games — but NC State, specifically Smith, pose a serious threat to that streak. Smith is second in the conference in scoring, and drilled seven 3-pointers against SU last season. The zone has certainly improved during ACC play, but I just see the Wolfpack shooting too well, scoring too much, too often, for the Orange to keep up.

Anthony Alandt (18-7)
Valentine’s Day massacre
NC State 80, Syracuse 75

It’ll be close. Expect a good sized-crowd and a ton of energy buzzing around Syracuse, who’s coming back to the Dome after winning two close games on the road. But don’t expect the Orange’s play to match the level of excitement from SU fans this week. NC State is entering Tuesday night at a terrific 10-5 in ACC play, with losses only to the top echelon of teams in the conference. The Wolfpack takes care of business, and does so handily against the rest of the ACC.

With a 3-point shooting percentage of 35.7% and an offensive rebounding rate that ranks 93rd in the country, NC State has the numbers to take care of Syracuse on the road and move on to three straight home games as it vies for a double-bye in the ACC Tournament. This is crunch time, especially for a Syracuse team desperately trying to save anything left from another up-and-down season. And we know how the Orange fare with their backs up against the wall. Close, yet no victory cigar again for SU as it moves on to Duke, the big game, with three full days of rest.

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Published on February 13, 2023 at 11:18 pm