NC State will face Syracuse Wednesday at noon in Greensboro Coliseum in its opening game of the 2021 ACC Tournament.
The Wolfpack (13-9, 9-8 ACC) finished ninth in the regular-season standings, therefore earning the No. 9 seed in the conference tournament. The Pack will be wearing its road red jerseys when it faces the eighth-seeded Orange.
NC State lost both contests to Syracuse in the regular-season series but had its chances in each.
The Wolfpack led by nine points at halftime in the first meeting in the Carrier Dome but ultimately lost 76-73 in its first game without fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels, who led the team in scoring, assists and steals but suffered a season-ending ACL tear against Wake Forest four days prior. The Pack was also without fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk in the first meeting due to “university policies.”
The Orange won the second meeting in Raleigh 77-68, in which NC State committed 20 turnovers.
The Wolfpack has become a different team since the home loss to Syracuse on Feb. 9. After dropping the next game to Duke at home, the Pack won five-straight conference games to finish the regular season.
“When you look at the first game up there, we had our opportunities,” NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said. “That was our first game without Devon, then we found out DJ Funderburk wasn't going to be available for the game, but they made shots. I think we've scored enough points to win both games. At the end of the day, they outscored us. Of those games, we turned the ball over anywhere from 18 to 20 times a game and they've shot an unbelievable percentage against us in the last couple games.
“Give them credit. They outplayed us, won the games and made plays down the stretch.”
The biggest difference since the Wolfpack last played Syracuse? It’s gone big.
During the five-game winning streak to finish the regular season, NC State has gone with the same starting lineup. The first five has included freshmen guard Cam Hayes, redshirt freshman guard Dereon Seabron, junior forward Jericole Hellems, Funderburk and redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates.
With the exception of Hayes, who is listed at 6-3, each of the Pack’s starters are 6-7 or taller.
That’s quite a different look from the three-guard lineup NC State presented in the first two meetings, which included redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen (6-1) and senior guard Braxton Beverly (6-1).
“I hope it plays well,” Keatts said. “When you look at Syracuse, they're playing really good basketball. The last few times they played, they knocked off two really good teams in our league in Clemson and Carolina. Carolina's the biggest team in our league. I hope our size helps us, but at the end of the day, they're playing elite-level basketball, they're making shots.
“They can make shots behind the three-point line. A lot of people will say, 'Man, they take a lot of bad shots.' I would say they make a lot of tough shots.
“The zone is so tough to score against. When I watch tape, everybody struggles with it because you got to be able to find some cracks in it, you got to be able to score in different ways, you got to be to make some jump shots from the outside, got to offensive rebound, you got to make some plays around the basket. It's weird because they turn your post guys into your point guards because those are the guys who really have to make the plays. That's what makes it tough.”
By earning the No. 9 seed, NC State avoided having to play on Tuesday and will enjoy a bye to the second round on Wednesday. Had the Pack ended up with the No. 10 seed or worse, it would have had to win five games in five days if it was to win the tournament.
Only one team since league expansion has won four games in four days to win the ACC Tournament, but no team that had to play on Tuesday has ever run the table to take home the title.
Because of conference standings tiebreakers, the Wolfpack’s seeding destiny came down to the UNC-Duke game on Saturday. NC State would have been the No. 10 seed with a Blue Devils win, but the Tar Heels’ 91-73 victory in the rivalry game this weekend ironically worked in the Pack’s favor.
“That was so important,” Keatts said. “Give our guys credit because they put us in this situation where we didn't have to play on Tuesday. You can compare us to whoever you want to, but at the end of the day we got nine wins in this league. That's pretty doggone good in comparison to everybody in the league, some people just didn't play as many games as we played. Getting nine wins out of 17 says a lot about our guys and the turnaround that we've had.
“Playing on Tuesday would have made things even more difficult than it is because we're playing seven guys and every now and then I'm sprinkling an eighth guy in. That day is important, no matter what the situation is. People say, 'Man, play on the first day and get it out of the way.' I don't agree with that. If you can get any type of bye, I think it helps. I'm proud of our guys for putting us in that situation.”
Due to a late-season turnaround, the Wolfpack won’t just be playing for bragging rights this week in Greensboro.
After winning five-straight games to end the regular season, NC State put itself in the NCAA Tournament Bubble conversation. The Pack still has a good amount of work to do in the ACC Tournament, but it can make Selection Sunday interesting if it can at least win its next two contests.
Keatts, who took UNC Wilmington to the NCAA Tournament in two of his three seasons there prior to taking the job at NC State, is used to the do-or-die mentality of the conference tournament. The Seahawks compete in the Colonial Athletic Association, which is typically a one-bid league.
That meant even if UNCW won the CAA in the regular season, which Keatts did in all three of his seasons there, it also had to win the conference tournament to secure a bid to the Big Dance.
“It was nerve-racking,” Keatts said. “My last year, I think we had 29 wins at Wilmington and we were playing in the championship game. If we didn't win the tournament, we were going to go to the NIT. It was tough. How can that help? I'm not sure if that helps at all. It's a different league. In any tournament situation, a lot of that stuff comes down to whatever matchups you get.
“The way I can help these guys is for us just to concentrate on Syracuse and try to figure out how to beat those guys. If we're fortunate enough to get a win, then concentrate on the next team. That's all I can do, it's the only way that I have ever approached it.
“Two of those three tournaments that I was at Wilmington, we either went in as a number one or number two seed, so it was a little bit different. This one here, I don't think any team in our league is comfortable saying, 'Hey, how do we just win the tournament.' I think you win one game and then you figure out how to get to the next one.”
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