NC State will host Syracuse for the second meeting between the two programs this season Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in PNC Arena.

Although the Wolfpack led for 22 minutes in the first game, the Orange came away with a 76-73 win in the Carrier Dome on Jan. 31.

The Pack is coming off of its first road win this season, an 81-65 victory over Boston College in Chestnut Hill on Saturday. Syracuse lost to Clemson 78-61 in Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday in its only game since the home win over the Wolfpack eight days ago.

The Orange have struggled on the road. Syracuse is 1-5 away from home this season, losing its last three road games by an average margin of 20 points per contest.

The first meeting between the two programs marked NC State’s first contest without its leading scorer fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the game prior against Wake Forest. The Wolfpack was also without its second-leading scorer fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk, who had to sit out in the Carrier Dome due to “university policies.”

Funderburk, who’s averaging 11.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, is expected to be available Tuesday after suiting up in each of the Pack’s last two contests.

“It's always good to have one of your better players available,” NC State head coach Kevin Keatts. “How does that change the game? I don't know, when you look at the fact that both Jericole [Hellems] and Manny Bates had career nights versus Syracuse on the road. But it's good. He's our best offensive rebounder. He's a low-post scorer. He's a leader in the locker room and just having him available certainly is a positive for our team.”

Syracuse guard Kadary Richmond made the difference in the first meeting. Richmond, a 6-5 freshman who averages 6.8 points per game, scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 16 minutes in the win over the Wolfpack.

All six of his made field goals were at the rim, and NC State struggled to defend his length on the perimeter in the first game without Daniels.

“We knew coming into the game, defensively, he was one of the guys in the zone that did a tremendous job getting deflections and steals,” Keatts said. “He came in averaging seven points a game, and he left with 14. He hurt us. That being said, they got really good players, they've got really good shot makers. We're not going to just focus just on him. Their guard play, in particular, is really good, especially when they're making shots.

“He was a problem for us. He drove us to the hole, scored over us several times, got to the free-throw line, and he was a huge difference in round one. Certainly, we've got to do a better job of keeping him in front and not letting him get to his spots.”

A key to defeating Syracuse’s zone is making three-point shots. The Wolfpack, who ranks 88th nationally and sixth in the ACC with a 35.7 percent shooting average from deep, made just 26.1 percent of its attempts from the perimeter in the three-point loss to the Orange in January.

One player that could help the Wolfpack improve its three-point shooting efficiency in the second meeting is redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen.

Allen has shot 37.5 percent from the perimeter this season, which ranks third on the team behind senior guard Braxton Beverly and Hellems, but the 6-1, 180-pounder has struggled to knock down shots recently.

In NC State’s last five contests, Allen has gone a combined 2-of-19 (10.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

“He's missing,” Keatts said. “What he's done though, and I give him a lot of credit, is he's playing extremely hard on both ends of the floor. When you look at him, he didn't make shots against Boston College, but he had a huge block out, he made a turnover, he had a huge steal that led to a layup. It's going to go in for him, I just don't know when it's going to be.

“He needs to see the ball go into the hole. Once he does, he's the type of kid that can run off three or four threes. I've wanted him to play better, he's wanted to play better. I don't think it's anything that has to do with mechanics. It's just the shot's not going in right now, and it will. I just don't know when it's going to be, and I hope it's soon.”

After a four-game losing streak in the month of January, the Wolfpack has gone 2-2 in its latest four-game stretch. With currently eight scheduled games remaining, the Pack will need to win most, if not all of them to be in the conversation for the NCAA Tournament in March.

Despite the adversity the Pack has faced during conference play with the loss of Daniels, a handful of injuries and absences in January, and its second COVID-related pause this season, the head coach has been encouraged with the team’s effort and lack of quit in the thick of its ACC schedule.

“These guys are competing, they're fighting their butts off,” Keatts said. “We've been dealt an unfortunate hand. Number one, just like everybody else, with COVID. When you lose a player at the stage that you do in Devon Daniels, then certainly you have to be able to adjust. It's not easy. I've understood the struggles and the challenges that some of our guys go through.”

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