The new-look Syracuse Orange have five sophomores in the starting lineup and a sixth playing a key role off the bench of late.
First-year coach Adrian Autry, who played for the Orange and then was an assistant coach for Boeheim has guided the squad to a 13-6 overall mark and 4-4 ACC record.
Syracuse has played an ambitious schedule, with non-conference wins over Oregon, Georgetown and LSU. However, Syracuse fell against Tennessee and Gonzaga in back-to-back games in Hawaii.
Syracuse hosts NC State at 7 p.m. Saturday on the ACC Network.
Overview
Syracuse has the one-two punch of sophomore point guard Judah Mintz and sophomore wing J.J. Starling. The duo have combined for 30.1 points and 6.5 assists per game for the Orange this season.
Florida State center transfer Naheem McLeod got hurt this season Jan. 2, and the Orange have been playing sophomore Maliq Brown at center, with sophomore Justin Taylor at small ball power forward. Lanky sophomore forward Chris Bell has improved this season to complement Brown and Taylor.
Rankings
Syracuse is No. 79 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 76.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Orange ranked No. 100 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 64.
KenPom.com has Syracuse at No. 83, and NCSU checks in at No. 74 this season.
Shooting
Syracuse is averaging 75.3 points per game, and are shooting 44.3 percent from the field, 32.3 percent on three-pointers and 73.2 percent from the free-throw line.
Bell is the best of the three-point shooters at 37.9 percent (44 of 116). At least seven players have attempted at least 23 three-point attempts.
Rebounding
The Orange are averaging 37.0 rebounds per game, but are still minus-1.5 on rebounding margin this season. The team has 191 offensive rebounds, led by Brown, who had 49.
Brown is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, and backup sophomore center Quadir Copeland is chipping in 5.3 rebounds a contest.
Defense
Syracuse is allowing 72.4 points per game, with opponents shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 30.2 percent on three-pointers.
With the 7-4 McLeod injured (27 blocks), the next highest goes to Brown, who has 16 blocks, plus a team-high 40 steals. Mintz is second with 39 steals.
Depth
The 6-6, 200-pound Copeland is the centerpiece of Syracuse’s bench. He is averaging 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 19.0 minuter per game. He scored 10 points for a season-best his freshman year, against Pittsburgh. Copeland had a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds in a 81-73 win over the Panthers on Dec. 30.
Junior power forward Benny Williams, sophomore center Peter Carey, junior center Mounir Hima and sophomore guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. have bench roles. Williams, a former Rivals.com five-star prospect and No. 22 overall player in the class of 2021, is averaging 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.
Star Watch
Sophomore point guard Judah Mintz was one of the big surprises last year from the class of 2022.
The slinky 6-foot-4, 185-pounder was a key target for NC State, but then assistant coach Adrian Autry landed him out of Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy. Rivals.com ranked Mintz the No. 62 overall player in the class of 2022.
The DMV native came in and averaged 16.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.6 rebounds per game last year, and he shot 44.3 percent from the field. He’s not a big three-point shooter, going 20 of 66 for 30.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Mintz had 20 points and nine assists in a 75-72 home win over NC State last year Feb. 14. That was one of nine games he scored at least 20 points last year. He had a season-best 24 points against both Monmouth on Dec. 12, 2022, and two games later vs. Pittsburgh in a loss.
Mintz declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, but subsequently pulled his name out of it last spring. SU coach Jim Boeheim retired and Autry took over as head coach.
Mintz has flourished this winter, scoring a career-high 33 points in a 80-57 win over LSU on Nov. 28. He is fresh off of getting his ACC high, with 28 points in a 85-69 loss vs. Florida State last Tuesday. Mintz is averaging 18.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and has improved to shooting 34.7 percent on three-pointers (17 of 49).
Mintz has scored in double figures in every game, but two, and has reached at least 20 points in nine contests. He has impressively shot at least 10 free throws in eight games.
Likely Starters
NC State
PG — 0 DJ Horne (6-1, 175, R-Sr., 14.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.6 spg)
SG — 1 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Jr., 11.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.4 spg)
G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Sr., 11.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.6 apg)
PF — 11 Dennis Parker (6-6, 205, Fr., 6.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.5 apg)
C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Sr., 12.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg)
Syracuse
PG — 3 Judah Mintz (6-4, 185, Soph., 18.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.1 spg)
SG — 2 JJ Starling (6-4, 206, Soph., 11.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg)
SF — 4 Chris Bell (6-7, 188, Soph., 10.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.7)
F — 5 Justin Taylor (6-6, 218, Soph., 5.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.3 apg)
C — 1 Maliq Brown (6-8, 222, Soph., 9.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 2.1 spg)
Numbers Of Note
6 Final Four appearances for the Orange, with a national title in 2003, thanks to forward Carmelo Anthony.
8 Three-pointer's made by former NC State shooter Scott Wood in 21 attempts during. his two years playing the Orange.
22 McDonald's All-American's at Syracuse, with power forward Donnie Freeman getting selected to the game this season.
Game Within The Game: Syracuse's J.J. Starling vs. NC State's Jayden Taylor
Syracuse sophomore J.J. Starling was one of just three ACC freshman to average in double figures a year ago, only he did it for Notre Dame.
Starling was a McDonald’s All-American in the class of 2022, and was ranked by Rivals.com at No. 22 in the country. The upstate New York native played his senior year at La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere School, which is just outside of South Bend, Ind., and Notre Dame.
Starling signed with the Fighting Irish and then coach Mike Brey, and the 6-4, 206-pounder averaged 11.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game his freshman year. He shot 42.1 percent from the field and 29.9 percent on three-pointers. He joined Mintz (16.3 points per game) and Duke freshman post player Kyle Filipowski (15.1 points per game) in cracking double figures in the ACC.
Starling played once against NC State last year for Notre Dame. He had 18 points and seven rebounds, but the Wolfpack won 85-82 on Jan. 24, 2023. He had a season-high 23 points against Bowling Green on Nov. 22, and had at least 20 points in three games.
After Brey and Notre Dame went its separate ways, Starling decided to transfer and headed back home to Syracuse.
This season, Starling has scored 22 points for Syracuse in the 72-69 win over Miami on Jan. 20, and he added 21 in a 80-68 win over Georgetown on Dec. 9.
NC State junior shooting guard Jayden Taylor could end up matching up against Mintz. The Butler transfer is averaging 11.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, and he's shooting 38.9 percent from the field and 31.2 percent on three-pointers.
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