Game predictions: NC State at Syracuse

NC State Wolfpack basketball continues ACC play against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome Sunday at 6 p.m. on ACC Network.

The Wolfpack (7-5, 3-4 ACC) will look to get back to .500 in conference play after a 72-67 home win over Wake Forest Wednesday. The Pack will have to go without fifth-year senior Devon Daniels for the first time this season. Daniels, the team's leader in scoring, assists and steals, suffered a season-ending ACL tear against the Demon Deacons Wednesday.

The Orange (9-5, 3-4 ACC) are coming off of an 81-58 road loss to No. 8 Virginia on Monday.

Here are The Wolfpacker staff's game predictions for State's matchup with the Orange Sunday evening.

How will NC State look in its first game without fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels against a challenging opponent on the road? That is the biggest question Sunday.

Daniels, who led the team in scoring, assists and steals, suffered a season-ending ACL tear Wednesday against Wake Forest, a game in which he led the Pack with 20 points and nine rebounds.

The loss is a devastating blow to a Wolfpack team fighting to get back on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation.

A win Sunday would not just provide a boost of confidence to an NC State squad missing its veteran leader in the backcourt, it would also give the Pack its first "quad one" win of the season, a key metric for teams hoping to earn an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

NC State has had plenty of success against Syracuse under head coach Kevin Keatts. The Wolfpack is 3-0 against the Orange under the fourth-year head coach.

Part of the strong track record has to do with the personnel combinations Keatts likes to use. NC State typically has a pick-and-pop, small-ball power forward that is ideal to infiltrate the Syracuse zone.

Fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk and junior forward Jericole Hellems fit that mold. The Pack will need at least one, if not both, of those guys to have a strong performance to get back to .500 in conference play, particularly considering the scoring production Daniels leaves behind.

The Orange also takes care of the basketball. Syracuse turns the ball over on just 16.2 percent of offensive possessions, which ranks 38th nationally. Winning the turnover margin will be more important than ever for the Wolfpack with Daniels gone.

Syracuse has been the exception to NC State's necessity to force turnovers to win games, however. The Pack has yet to win the turnover margin in its last three contests against the Orange under Keatts.

Morale may be at a low this season amongst Wolfpack fans after Daniels' injury, but I expect an energized and motivated NC State squad in the wake of losing one of their veteran leaders. The Pack gets strong outings from Hellems, Funderburk and its freshman guards to pull out a close, much-needed quad one victory and first true road win of the season.

Prediction: NC State 75, Syracuse 72

Previous predictions:

ACC Game 1: NC State 79, UNC 75 (Actual: NC State 79-76)

ACC Game 2: NC State 87, Boston College 80 (Actual: NC State 79-76)

ACC Game 3: NC State 73, Clemson 71 (Actual: Clemson 74-70)

ACC Game 4: NC State 72, Miami 64 (Actual: Miami 64-59)

ACC Game 5: NC State 82, Florida State 77 (Actual: Florida State 105-73)

ACC Game 6: North Carolina 81, NC State 75 (Actual: UNC 86-76)

ACC Game 7: NC State 80, Wake Forest 71 (Actual: NC State 72-67)

Let’s take a brief stroll down memory lane.

It’s Jan. 20, 2014. Before NC State was about to tip off that evening against Maryland, I can recall the then-sports information director for the Pack, Josh Rattray, getting up from the pregame meal table we were sitting at teasing something to the affect of, “Get ready for the big news.”

The big news?

Star forward T.J. Warren was not playing due to an injury. NC State at this point was already off to a 1-4 start in the ACC, while Maryland was 3-2 in the conference. Quite frankly, it seemed incomprehensible that NC State could defeat the Terps without its only true, established scorer, a fact that was even more apparent when it trailed 29-20 at halftime.

So it seemed.

NC State rolled past Maryland in the second half, outscoring the Terps 45-27 on its way to a 65-56 improbable win. Ultimately that victory helped the Wolfpack end up on the good side of the bubble while the Terps had its bubble burst.

The Wolfpack was on the other end of this phenomenon a few years. Notre Dame lost its star forward and ACC Preseason Player of the Year Bonzie Colson after an 11-3 start and winning its ACC opener.

In its next game, the Fighting Irish routed NC State by 30 points and then won at Syracuse by two. Ultimately reality hit and the Irish lost seven straight, including getting trounced by the Wolfpack by 18 points in the last of those games.

I don’t have much to offer from a strictly analytical standpoint about Sunday’s game. If I did, it would suggest a Syracuse win. That’s what makes sense.

But my prediction is that the Wolfpack will rise to the occasion and pull out a surprising win..

Prediction: NC State 69, Syracuse 66

Previous predictions:

ACC Game 1: UNC 79, NC State 70 (Actual: NC State 79-76)

ACC Game 2: NC State 78, Boston College 66 (Actual: NC State 79-76)

ACC Game 3: Clemson 79, NC State 76 (Actual: Clemson 74-70)

ACC Game 4: NC State 79, Miami 76 (Actual: Miami 64-59)

ACC Game 5: Florida State 79, NC State 76 (Actual: Florida State 105-73)

ACC Game 6: North Carolina 79, NC State 76 (Actual: North Carolina 86-76)

ACC Game 7: NC State 77, Wake Forest 71 (Actual: NC State 72-67)

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