Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has said he'll be back for next year.

The 78-year-old has the Orange at 15-10 overall and 8-6 in the ACC and likely playing in the NIT this season with a young roster. Syracuse has feasted on the bottom half of the ACC with two wins over Boston College and Notre Dame, plus victories against Louisville, Florida State and Georgia Tech.

Boeheim has won a national title in 2003, three runner-up finishes and been to the Final Four five times. He has won 1,013 games, plus another 101 that were vacated.

Syracuse has been going through a youth movement this season, but do have a few veterans.

Veteran center Jesse Edwards, a senior, and senior shooting guard Joe Girard have been joined by three freshmen in the lineup. Point guard Judah Mintz has been the best of the newcomers, and power forward Maliq Brown and small forward Chris Bell round out the starters.

NC State had offered freshmen Mintz, Brown and reserve Justin Taylor. Girard and Edwards could return to use their COVID year.

Rankings

Syracuse is No. 98 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 36.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Orange ranked No. 86 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 39.

KenPom.com has Syracuse at No. 88, and NCSU checks in at No. 41.

RealtimeRPI.com has Syracuse ranked No. 105 in the country, and NC State is No. 34.

Shooting

Syracuse is averaging 74.6 points per game, and shooting 47.0 percent from the field, 35.8 percent on three-pointers and 73.9 percent at the free-throw line.

Freshman Justin Taylor has come off the bench to shoot 24-of-55 on three-pointers for 43.6 percent. Girard has drained 72-of-188 from beyond the arc for 38.3 percent.

Rebounding

The Orange are averaging 35.4 rebounds per game, and are a minus-0.4 in rebounding margin.

Edwards has upped his rebounding game with 10.2 boards a contest, but the next player is Brown at 4.9. Edwards has a team-high 76 offensive rebounds.

Defense

Syracuse is allowing 70.3 points per game, with opposing teams shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 33.6 percent from three-point range.

Edwards is a gifted shot-blocker with 71 blocks, and backup sophomore post player Mounir Hima has 25 blocks in 23 games.

Depth

Hima, Taylor, former Marquette point guard Symir Torrence and sophomore power forward Benny Williams are part of the rotation.

Williams, who stepped away for the Virginia game, is averaging 6.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game. Rivals.com ranked him No. 22 in the class of 2021. Taylor was ranked No. 75 in the class of 2022.

NC State is playing a center from Amsterdam, Netherlands, for the second straight game.

The Wolfpack faced Boston College center Quinten Post on Saturday, and tonight have Jesse Edwards of Syracuse.

The 6-foot-11, 230-pounder has gotten better each year, and is averaging a double-double with 14.2 points and 10.2 rebounds, plus 2.8 blocks per game. Edwards is playing some of his best ball of late. He had 18 points and 12 rebounds at Florida State last Wednesday, and then had a season-high 27 points, seven boards and four blocks at Boston College on Feb. 4.

Edwards had 12 points and 21 rebounds in a one-point loss vs. Bryant on Nov. 26, and he has 10 double-doubles for the season. Edwards has blocked six shots in two games.

Edwards jumped from 1.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 2020-21, and jumped to 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per contest last year. He had 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks against NC State last year in a 89-82 win Feb. 2, 2022.

NC State

PG — 1 Jarkel Joiner (6-1, 180, R-Sr., 16.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.3 spg)

SG — 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 165, Soph., 18.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.6 spg)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Jr., 12.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.2 spg)

PF — 23 Greg Gantt (6-8, 215, R-Jr., 1.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.3 apg, 1.1 spg)

C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Jr., 12.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.5 apg)

Syracuse

PG — 3 Judah Mintz (6-3, 172, Fr., 15.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.0 spg)

SG — 11 Joe Girard (6-1, 190, Sr., 17.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.2 apg)

SF — 0 Chris Bell (6-7, 180, Fr., 6.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.4 apg)

PF — 1 Maliq Brown (6-8, 213, Fr., 6.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.9 apg)

C — 14 Jesse Edwards (6-11, 230, Sr., 14.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 2.8 bpg)

11 Wins in 17 games for Syracuse over NC State, with four straight victories in the series.

4,763 Career points in high school for senior guard Joe Girard, which ranks 10th all-time.

17,907 Average home attendance this season for Syracuse, which ranks fifth in the country behidn Tennessee, Arkansas, North Carolina and Kentucky.

NC State had hoped to land Syracuse freshman point guard Judah Mintz last year.

Mintz, who Rivals.com ranked No. 62 overall coming out of Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, has overachieved this season. He had officially visited NC State on Feb. 17-19, 2022.

The 6-3, 172-pounder from Fort Washington, Md., is averaging 15.4 points and 4.5 assists per game this season. He is shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 73.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Mintz has scored in double figures in all but four games this season. He has scored at least 20 points in six games, including 24 points against Monmouth on Dec. 12, and also vs. Pittsburgh on Dec. 20. He has one double-double with 16 points, 10 assists and five steals in a 83-64 win over Georgetown on Dec. 10.

The one area that Mintz has struggled is his three-point shooting. He is just 9-of-47 for 19.1 percent, with six of the three-pointers made happening in three games.

NC State sixth-year senior point guard Jarkel Joiner is averaging 16.2 points and 3.4 assists per game this season. He is coming off getting 26 points, six assists and five steals in the 92-62 win at Boston College last Saturday.

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