12:03 pm
March 10

ACC Tournament: North Carolina State v. Syracuse

Who will WIN this matchup?

North Carolina State Wolfpack (13-9)

Syracuse Orange (15-8)

 

Current odds:

North Carolina State Wolfpack: (+125)

Syracuse Orange: (-145)

 

• The line for this game is Syracuse by 2.5 points.

• If college basketball teams could slap sponsors on their uniforms, Syracuse’s might well be a gum or soap company. That’s because the Orange are squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble despite a decent 15-8 record and 9-7 Atlantic Coast Conference mark. Only one of their victories is of the Quad 1 variety, weighing down the significance of their winning percentage.

• The ACC tournament could give the Orange chances to post another signature victory, but for eighth-seeded Syracuse to get a crack at top-seeded Virginia in the quarterfinals on Thursday, it first must take care of ninth-seeded North Carolina State on Wednesday in Greensboro, N.C.

• The Orange do arrive in Greensboro with momentum after closing the regular season with a 64-54 win over Clemson on March 3, led by 22 points and 10 rebounds from Illinois transfer Alan Griffin. Syracuse held the Tigers to 33.9 percent field-goal shooting, connected on 10 3-pointers and committed just seven turnovers.

• Buddy Boeheim, the coach’s son, chipped in 17 points, and he leads the team in scoring with 16 points per game, followed by Griffin at 15.3 ppg. Quincy Guerrier (14.5) and Dolezaj (10.2) also average in double figures.

• NC State (13-9, 9-8) may need to win the ACC tourney to get an NCAA bid, but the Wolfpack are playing their best basketball of the season. They finished the regular season by dumping Notre Dame 80-69 on March 3 for their fifth straight win, a streak that includes a road verdict at Virginia.

• NC State might have elbowed its way onto the bubble if it could have played its scheduled game Saturday at home against No. 22 Virginia Tech. However, COVID-19 issues in the Hokies’ program forced the cancellation of the game. The Wolfpack tried to find another opponent on short notice but couldn’t pull it off.

• Devon Daniels leads the Wolfpack in scoring at 16.5 ppg, but freshman guard Cam Hayes sparkled at Notre Dame with a career-high 20 points.

• Syracuse swept the teams’ season series, winning 76-73 at home on Jan. 31 and 77-68 in Raleigh 10 days later.

4/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Syracuse Orange
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