NC State showed that the first two meetings meant nothing against Syracuse in advancing to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Washington, D.C.
Syracuse swept the regular season series, with one game a blowout at the Orange, and the other a shootout where NC State had to rally back to nearly win in Raleigh. Neither game looked anything like what happened Wednesday.
NC State dominated the second half to roll to a 83-65 win over Syracuse and will play Duke at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN. NC State improved to 19-14 overall and Syracuse fell to 20-12, and will likely play in the NIT Tournament.
“To be honest with you, they won two really good games against us and we talked about it,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “Give our guys a lot of credit. We were locked in and understood the scouting report. We did a better job of guarding certain people.
“We are the type of team where when our defense is really good, our offense tends to be elite.”
Duke topped NC State 79-64 on March 4 in Raleigh, with the Blue Devils essentially taking care of business over the last 10 minutes.
NC State knows the key part is taking care of business.
“Honestly, from our point of view, I don’t think we ever lost it,” said NCSU senior center D.J. Burns on confidence. “We were waiting to play a complete game. Tonight, was one of those nights where we handled business.”
The Wolfpack know they have to win the ACC Tournament to keep the season going for sure, but perhaps the door has also opened to make the NIT Tournament.
“We are fighting and I got guys in the locker room that really believe,” Keatts said. “The will to win. I think our guys are understanding a part of that. It doesn’t get easier and every team in this league can beat you.
“I think they all have the mentality that we don’t want to go home. Stay together, stick together, fight together.”
NC State welcomed back senior scoring wiz D.J. Horne, but he needed a half to get into a groove. He was scoreless in seven minutes of action in the first half and then exploded for 16 big second-half points.
Horne suffered a hip-flexor injury during the Pittsburgh game and only played 12 minutes in a road loss. He then missed the Louisville game Tuesday in the ACC Tournament, and it wasn’t until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday that he was cleared to play Syracuse.
NC State actually trailed 39-37 with 18:45 left in the game, but went on a vicious 21-2 run to open up a dominating 58-41 lead with 12:33 left. Horne had 11 points during the stretch and junior guard Jayden Taylor had two big three-pointers.
NC State won the battle of the boards 40-31, including 17-8 on offensive rebounds. That led to a big 20-7 advantage in second-chance points.
The Wolfpack also forced an impressive 19 turnovers and had 30-9 edge in points off turnovers. Combine that with shooting 20-of-24 at the free-throw line, while the Orange made five free throws.
The three NC State post players combined for 27 points and 24 rebounds.
“We knew going into the game we would have an advantage in the post,” Keatts said. “Obviously with D.J. [Burns], Mo [Diarra] and Ben [Middlebrooks]. We wanted to throw the ball to those guys.”
NC State got a blend of senior center Burns working inside, and guards Michael O’Connell and Taylor keeping the defense honest on the outside to take a 35-32 halftime lead.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first half and both went an identical 3 of 10 on three-pointers. The differences between the two teams wasn’t clear at all in the first 20 minutes.
Burns went 4 of 6 in the paint and had two assists, while Taylor and O’Connell combined for 18 points and three three-pointers. Just as important, NC State only had two turnovers and finished with 10 for the game.
Taylor finished with 18 points and nine boards, and O’Connell added 16 big points, three three-pointers and three assists.
The pace also seemed to work in NC State’s favor. Syracuse has some explosive open-court athletes, but took a hit when three-point shooting standout Chris Bell was limited to four minutes in the first half due to two quick fouls. Bell, who had eight three-pointers and 26 points in the first half of the last meeting against NC State, was limited to 11 minutes and fouled out in 21 minutes.
Syracuse relied on sophomore point guard Judah Mintz, who had 11 points and two assists in the first 20 minutes. Mintz finished with 21 points, and sophomore center Maliq Brown added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Keatts said the Wolfpack have learned the hard way to not fullcourt pressure Mintz and shrink the floor in the halfcourt.
“Judah Mintz has killed us every time we’ve played them,” Keatts said. “We wanted to do a good job of backing off and keeping him out of the lane.”
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