NC State Wolfpack basketball (8-7, 4-6 ACC) continues conference play Tuesday night against Syracuse in PNC Arena at 6:30 p.m. on ACC Network.

The Orange are 10-6 (4-5 ACC) under head coach Jim Boeheim in his 45th season with the program. Syracuse is coming off of a 78-61 road loss at Clemson Saturday.

The Pack is coming off of its first road win of the season, an 81-65 victory over Boston College in Chestnut Hill.

Tuesday will mark the second meeting between these two teams this season. The Orange won the first game 76-73 in the Carrier Dome on Jan. 31, just nine days ago. The Wolfpack led for 22 minutes in that contest but ultimately fell short in its first game without leading scorer fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear just four days prior against Wake Forest.

Here is the updated scouting report on Syracuse:

Syracuse opened the season 6-1 but has lost five of its last nine games since a COVID outbreak in the program caused the Orange to pause for over two weeks at the end of December.

Like NC State, Cuse is desperate for some quality wins this season.

So far, the Orange's best win was a 78-60 home victory over No. 20 Virginia Tech on Saturday, Jan. 23.

The Orange are 1-6 against teams ranked in the top 70 according to KenPom. NC State is currently No. 71 according to the analytics size.

Cuse has also struggled on the road. The Orange are 1-5 away from home this season and lost their last three road games by an average margin of 20 points per contest.

Syracuse was projected to finish sixth in the conference in the preseason ACC media poll.

Syracuse is ranked No. 55 in the NET rankings (NC State is No. 80), which makes Sunday's contest a "quad two" game for the Pack.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Orange ranked No. 34 (NC State is No. 47), and KenPom.com has Cuse ranked No. 55 (NC State is No. 71).

Syracuse is also ranked No. 70 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Syracuse relies heavily on perimeter shooting but has struggled behind the arc despite filling the court with capable shooters.

The Orange are shooting just 31.4 percent on three-point attempts this season, which ranks 266th nationally.

SU's perimeter shooting has been slightly better in league play. Cuse has shot 32.6 percent on three-pointers against ACC competition, which ranks 11th in the conference. 40.8 percent of its field goal attempts have come from behind the arc in league play, which ranks sixth in the ACC.

Syracuse has been efficient with its two-point and free-throw shooting, however.

The Orange have shot 52 percent on two-point attempts, which ranks 90th among Division I teams. Cuse has also made 79.3 percent of its free throws, which ranks ninth nationally.

Despite its efficiency, Syracuse has struggled to get to the line. Just 19.3 percent of the Orange's points have come from the strike, which ranks 126th nationally.

Cuse shot 46 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from the perimeter against the Wolfpack in the first meeting in January.

Advantage: NC State

Syracuse is an average rebounding team that has found more success on the defensive glass.

The Orange average 36.6 rebounds per game, which ranks 135th nationally, and its 26.3 defensive rebounds per contest is good for 141st among Division I teams.

Cuse has struggled to keep its opposition off of the offensive glass, however. SU has allowed its conference opponents to an offensive rebound on 37.1 percent of misses, which ranks last in the ACC.

Sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier leads the team in rebounding with 9.3 boards per game, which ranks second in the ACC individually.

NC State outrebounded the Orange 37-35 in the first meeting this season.

Advantage: NC State

Syracuse has an adjusted defensive efficiency of 96.6 (points per 100 possessions) according to KenPom, which ranks 81st nationally.

Cuse's adjusted defensive efficiency increases to 104.3 (points per 100 possessions) in league play, which ranks eighth in the ACC.

The Orange have been strong in event creation on the defensive end. Cuse ranks 14th nationally in block rate (14.2 percent) and 10th in steal rate (12.5 percent).

Syracuse has held opponents to 30.4 percent shooting from the perimeter, which ranks 50th nationally. The Orange have a defensive effective field goal percentage of 47.7, good for 79th among Division I teams.

NC State shot 44.3 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from the perimeter in the 76-73 road loss to Syracuse in January.

Advantage: Tie

Syracuse has just six players that average 10 or more minutes per game. All six of them average at least 21.3 minutes per contest.

The Orange get just 17 percent of its total minutes played from players off of the bench, which ranks 343rd nationally.

Cuse played eight total players in the first meeting against the Wolfpack but just six played more than two minutes, with each of the six players playing at least 16 minutes.

Advantage: NC State

Freshman guard Kadary Richmond made the difference in the first meeting in the Carrier Dome back nine days ago.

Richmond scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 16 minutes in the 76-73 win over the Wolfpack. All six of his made field goals came at the rim, and NC State struggled to defend his length on the perimeter in its 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,” Wolfpack coach Kevin 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.”

19 Lead changes occurred in the first meeting between these two teams in January. There were also seven ties. NC State led for 22 minutes, and the Orange led for 13:46 in the 76-73 Syracuse win.

121 Combined points have been scored by junior forward Jericole Hellems, redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates and fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk in the Wolfpack's last three games since Daniels' injury. Those three have combined to shoot 56.6 percent (47-of-83) from the field during that stretch.

3-1 Is head coach Kevin Keatts' record against Syracuse during his time with the Wolfpack. NC State suffered its first loss against the Orange under Keatts nine days ago in a 76-73 road defeat in the Carrier Dome

NC State

G — 3 Cam Hayes (6-3, 175, Fr., 6.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.2 apg)

G — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Sr., 6.3 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg)

G — 5 Thomas Allen (6-1, 180, R-Jr., 7.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.5 apg)

F — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 205, Jr., 13.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.5 apg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-So., 9.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.9 bpg)

Syracuse

G – 11 Joseph Girard (6-1, 195, So., 10.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.8 apg)

G – 0 Alan Griffin (6-5, 190, Jr. 15.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.1 apg)

G – 35 Buddy Boeheim (6-6, 195, Jr., 14.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.1 apg)

F – 1 Quincy Guerrier (6-7, 220, So., 15.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 0.9 apg)

F –21 Marek Dolezaj (6-10, 201, Sr., 10.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.4 apg)

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