Syracuse @ NC State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 14, 2018 ) NC State 74, Syracuse 70

North Carolina State looks to build off its weekend win over Pittsburgh when it hosts Syracuse on Wednesday evening. The Wolfpack struggled through a rough stretch that saw them lose four of five — all to ranked teams — but managed to rebound and hold off the late-charging Panthers for the 79-76 win on Saturday.

The Wolfpack were in desperate need of a win as their losing streak saw them drop out of the Top 25 and to the bottom half of the ACC standings, and they got one by competing hard at both ends of the court. "I think we played a complete game. We played through some adversity," NC State coach Kevin Keatts told the media after the game. Syracuse got back in the win column following a home loss to No. 19 Florida State with a 67-56 home win over Boston College on Saturday where Buddy Boeheim had a career day. "He's helping us," Boeheim’s father and coach Jim Boeheim told reporters after the game. "He's making shots. We need somebody to make shots out there and he's making shots."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ACC Network

ABOUT SYRACUSE (17-7, 8-3 ACC): Boeheim, a freshman guard averaging 13.5 minutes, scored a career-high 16 on 4-of-5 shooting from the 3-point line and 4-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line. Junior guard and leading scorer Tyus Battle (17.9 points per game) once again led the Orange with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting while adding four rebounds and three steals. The Orange used a raucous home crowd of 26,011 — the largest in Division I this season — to fuel its defense which held the Eagles to 33.3 percent shooting while also blocking six shots and forcing 18 turnovers.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (17-7, 5-6): Junior guard C.J. Bryce scored a game-high 21 on 6-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point line, while also grabbing seven rebounds. The Wolfpack weren’t all that efficient from the floor, shooting 26-of-64 (40.6 percent) but they made up for it by nailing a season-best 14 3-pointers on 51.9 percent shooting from long range. The Wolfpack did allow Pitt to shoot 47.3 percent from the field but forced 15 turnovers and held the Panthers without a field goal over their final seven attempts.

TIP-INS

1. Syracuse leads the all-time series 7-4 but the Wolfpack won 74-70 on the road last season.

2. Starting Wednesday, the Orange play four of their final seven games against teams that are currently ranked in the Top 16.

3. The Wolfpack are averaging 87.5 points over their last two after being held to 24 points by Virginia Tech on Feb. 2.

PREDICTION: North Carolina State 76, Syracuse 67