Orange Meet Wolfpack In Second Round Of ACC Tournament

Game Details: Wednesday, Mar. 13, Washington, D.C., 7 p.m.
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2024 ACC Tournament: Bracket

8-seed Syracuse (20-11, 11-9 ACC) are prepared for the second round of the 2024 ACC Tournament, where they will square up against 10-seed NC State (18-14, 10-11) on Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. in the Capital One Arena. The winner of the contest is set to face 2-seed Duke in the quarterfinal round at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 14.

SETTING THE STAGE
The Orange achieved 20 total wins and 11 conference victories in the regular season for the first time since 2013-14, when Syracuse finished 27-4 overall and 14-4 in ACC outings.

The Wolfpack ended the regular season on a four-game losing streak before taking down Louisville, 94-85, in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

Both squads play with pace as they are the top two squads in the ACC in fastbreak points per game. Syracuse completed the regular season atop the conference with 13.2 fastbreak points per contest while NC State finished second with 12.9 per affair.

THE SYRACUSE-NC STATE SERIES
Syracuse will matchup with NC State for the third time this season and 21^st in program history. The Orange own a 14-6 advantage in the all-time series. The last seven meetings between the two squads have gone Syracuse's way. The Orange won both previous contests against the Wolfpack this season, most recently with an 87-83 victory as visitors on February 20. The last win in the series for NC State came on Feb. 11, 2020, when NC State took down Syracuse, 79-74.

LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore guard Judah Mintz paced the Orange offense with 20 points for his fourth straight performance of 20-or-more points at Clemson. He added four assists and three rebounds. Sophomore swingman Quadir Copeland came off the bench and scored 17 points. Sophomore center Maliq Brown earned his second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Guard J.J. Starling, a sophomore, tallied 10 points for his 15^th-straight game scoring in double-figures.

ORANGE LEADERS
On Monday afternoon, the league office announced Mintz and Brown as All-ACC selections. Mintz was tabbed on the All-ACC Second Team and Brown was named to the All-ACC Defensive Team. Mintz finished the regular season in fourth place in the conference in points per game (18.7) and third in assists per outing (4.5). Brown led the ACC in steals per game (2.23) and grabbed a team-best 7.9 rebounds per affair in conference contests.

The Orange have five players who completed the regular season averaging double-digit scoring in ACC games: Mintz (17.5 ppg.), Starling (14.4), sophomore forward Chris Bell (12.0), Copeland (10.9) and Brown (10.5). In all competitions this season, the duo of Mintz and Starling have combined for 32.2 points per game, which ranks second in the conference.

Syracuse is second in the ACC in steals per game (9.2) and turnovers forced per game (14.6). Trailing Brown in steals per game for the Orange is Mintz, who ranks third in the conference with 2.10 steals per affair.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Graduate guard DJ Horne topped the Wolfpack offense in the regular season with 16.8 points per game and ranked eighth in the ACC in scoring average. Coming into the week, Horne ranked atop the conference in 3-point percentage (.429) and fourth in 3-pointers per game (2.9). The other three players that averaged double-figure scoring in the regular season are junior guard Jayden Taylor (12.4 ppg.), graduate forward D.J. Burns Jr. (12.0) and graduate guard Casey Morsell (11.4). Junior forward Mohamed Diarra grabbed a team-best 6.6 boards per outing prior to the start of postseason competition.

Coming into the ACC Tournament, NC State ranked third in the ACC in turnovers forced per game (12.6) and fourth in the conference in steals per game (7.2).

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (@cuse_mbb).

Orange Meet Wolfpack In Second Round Of ACC Tournament

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Players Mentioned

J.J. Starling

Syracuse University Athletics