NC State, Syracuse Set For Sunday Showdown

NC State will look to make it two in a row as they travel to Syracuse, NY to battle the Syracuse Orange Sunday evening January 31 in ACC action. Tipoff is slated for 6 pm inside the Carrier Dome and can be seen on the ACC Network.

The Wolfpack ended a season-long four-game losing streak, topping Wake Forest 72-67 Wednesday evening improving to 7-5 overall and 3-4 in the ACC. While winning the contest, NC State suffered a significant loss as leading scorer Devon Daniels tore his ACL during the second half of the game.

Daniels led the Wolfpack at 16.5 ppg along with 5 rebounds. DJ Funderburk and Cole Hellems will be called upon to carry the load on offense at 11.9 ppg and 11.8 ppg respectively. Forward Manny Bates leads in rebounds and blocks at 5.5 and 3.4 per outing.

Syracuse fell to 9-5 overall and also 3-4 in the ACC, most recently falling to UVA 81-58 January 25. Quincy Guerrier leads the Orange in scoring and rebounds at 16.8 ppg and 9 rebounds. Alan Griffin adds at 15.5 ppg, followed by Buddy Boeheim at 14.5 ppg. Marek Dolezaj and Joeseph Girard III round out the double-figure scorers at 11.0 and 10.6 each.

Both teams are almost identical on season averages as Syracuse edges NC State at overall ppg at 77.9 to 76.4. The Orange also holds the advantage in rebounds at 37.5 to 32.6. Both teams average 4.9 blocks per game.

Game Notes:

• NC State got back on the winning track with a 72-67 win over Wake Forest on Wednesday evening. The win proved costly though as the team’s leading scorer, Devon Daniels tore the ACL in his left knee with 9:01 remaining in the game. Daniels still led the team in scoring and rebounding in the win over the Demon Deacons, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds. Jericole Hellems added 17 points, scoring 7 of his 17 after Daniels went down with an injury.

• The Pack’s defense was flying around on Wednesday. NC State forced Wake Forest into 20 turnovers and had 10 steals and eight blocked shots in the win.

• NC State leads the ACC in steals (9.42), turnovers forced (17.58) and turnover margin (+4.75). The Pack has had 10 or more steals in five games this season, including 18 against Charleston Southern, which was the most under Kevin Keatts. The Pack has six players averaging at least one steal per game and has three players in the top-10 of the ACC in steals.

• Sunday marks the 14th all-time meeting between the two programs.

• Syracuse leads the all-time series, 7-6. The Pack has a 3-4 inside the Carrier Dome all-time, but has won its last two games at Syracuse, including a 79-74 victory last season.

• Kevin Keatts is 3-0 against Syracuse as head coach of the Pack, including 2-0 at the Carrier Dome.

• Last season in the Pack’s 79-74 win over the Orange in the Carrier Dome, Devon Daniels scored 23 points and added three steals and two blocks. Jericole Hellems added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.