Syracuse is squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and will be trying to defeat a team for a third time.
Syracuse played a complete 40-minute game to defeat NC State 77-65 at home Jan. 27. The Orange had a fabulous 55-point first half that will forever be known as the “Chris Bell half,” who had 26 points, and held on for a 87-83 win in Raleigh on Feb. 20.
Starting with the road win at NC State, Syracuse has won four of its last five games going into the ACC Tournament tonight.
Syracuse (20-11 overall, 11-9 ACC) plays NC State (18-14, 9-11 ACC) at 7 p.m. tonight on ESPN2.
Overview
Syracuse is the rare team in college basketball that relies on six sophomores, which will make for an interesting offseason because if they all return, the Orange could be a top 15 team next year.
Shooting guard J.J. Starling and point guard Judah Mintz are able to get their shots off nearly any time they want. Wing Chris Bell, who had 26 first-half points and eight three-pointers in the previous meeting against NC State, is obviously a gifted shooter.
Forward Justin Taylor has struggled this season at 5.1 points per game, but then the Orange have sophomore Quadir Copeland behind him, and he’s a quality two-way player. Center Maliq Brown holds his ground and does the dirty work inside.
Rankings
Syracuse is No. 80 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 79.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Orange ranked No. 96 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 71.
KenPom.com has Syracuse at No. 79, and NCSU checks in at No. 76 this season.
Shooting
Syracuse is averaging 76.7 points per game, and are shooting 46.1 percent from the field, 33.8 percent on three-pointers and 72.0 percent from the free-throw line.
The Orange have one quality shooter, Bell, and he’s 41.5 percent from three-point land. Starling is at 32.6 percent, and Mintz is 29.3 percent.
Rebounding
The Orange are averaging 33.3 rebounds per game, but are minus-4.2 on rebounding margin this season.
Brown is the main rebounder, but the undersized lineup is why they have a minus rebounding margin. Brown is at 7.0 rebounds per game and has 71 offensive rebounds. Copeland is second on the team at 4.6 boards a contest.
Defense
Syracuse is allowing 75.4 points per game, with opponents shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 34.1 percent on three-pointers.
The Orange don’t have a lot of rim protection after massive center Naheem McLeod got injured. Brown has 27 blocks and also leads the team with 69 steals. Mintz is second on the squad with 65 and Copeland has 46 steals.
Depth
The depth has taken a hit with the loss of junior power forward Benny Williams, who was averaging 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 17.0 minutes per game.
The 6-6, 200-pound Copeland is a starter who comes off the bench. He can play both small forward and be a small-ball power forward. Copeland is averaging 9.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He erupted for 25 points and eight rebounds in the win over NC State in Raleigh.
Sophomore center Peter Carey, junior center Mounir Hima and sophomore guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. are options off the bench.
Star Watch
Syracuse sophomore point guard Judah Mintz is the star for the Orange and is averaging 18.7 points per game, but all eyes will be on sophomore small forward Chris Bell today.
Bell is Syracuse's only big three-point threat and for 20 minutes, NC State lost track of that Feb. 20. Bell had eight three-pointers and 26 points in the first half in sparking Syracuse to 55 points in the half and a 87-83 win. NC State took Bell away in the second half and charged back for a comeback, but came back short.
Bell was a nice spark in the first meeting at Syracuse, scoring 13 points in 21 minutes and he made three three-pointers.
The outburst by Bell against NC State wasn’t a shock. He went 8 of 10 on three-pointers en route to 30 points in a 94-92 win over Louisville on Feb. 7. He loves playing the Cardinals, and had 23 points in the rematch March 2.
Bell had 20 points and four three-pointers in the 69-59 win over Boston College on Jan. 10. He had 25 points and six three-pointers in the 79-75 non-conference win over Colgate on Nov. 14. Bell also had 20 points and six three-pointers in the 80-57 blowout win over LSU on Nov. 28.
Bell, who went by Chris Bunch in high school, was ranked No. 90 overall and a four-star prospect by Rivals.com coming out of Mount Pleasant (Utah) Wasatch Academy in the class of 2022. The. 6-7, 188-pounder is originally from Concord, Calif.
NC State senior wing Casey Morsell is a quality defender and could be tasked with making sure Bell doesn’t shoot jumpers. Morsell had 25 points in the 94-85 win over Louisville on Tuesday.
Likely Starters
NC State
PG — 12 Michael O'Connell (6-2, 195, Sr., 4.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 apg)
SG — 0 DJ Horne (6-1, 175, R-Sr., 16.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.4 apg) or 1 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Jr., 12.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg)
SF — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Sr., 11.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.8 apg)
PF — 23 Mohamed Diarra (6-10, 215, Jr., 5.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 0.3 apg)
C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Sr., 12.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.6 apg)
Syracuse
PG — 3 Judah Mintz (6-4, 185, Soph., 18.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.1 spg)
SG — 2 JJ Starling (6-4, 206, Soph., 13.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.8 apg)
SF — 4 Chris Bell (6-7, 188, Soph., 12.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.7 apg)
F — 5 Justin Taylor (6-6, 218, Soph., 5.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 apg)
C — 1 Maliq Brown (6-8, 222, Soph., 9.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.2 spg)
Numbers Of Note
93.4 Percentage of points scored by the sophomore class at Syracuse. The best non-sophomore scorer for Syracuse was junior power forward Benny Williams (97 points), who was kicked off the team.
107 Dunks this season by Syracuse with sophomore center Maliq Brown getting 42 of them. However, 20 of them were by players who won’t face NC State tonight.
260 Free-throw attempts this season by sophomore point guard Judah Mintz. He’s made 199 of them for 76.5 percent. He went 14 of 18 from the line in the first meeting against NC State.
Game Within The Game: Syracuse's Quadir Copeland vs. NC State's Mohamed Diarra
Not many times a key matchup involves a team's sixth man, but Syracuse sophomore forward Quadir Copeland hurt the Wolfpack this season.
The 6-6, 200-pounder from Philadelphia, Pa., is averaging 9.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, and he’s a quality defender. Copeland went 10 of 13 from the field for 25 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in the 87-83 win over NC State on Feb. 20. He wasn’t as big a performer in the first meeting, getting five points and four rebounds in 18 minutes played.
Copeland isn’t a big three-point threat — he’s shooting 25.6 percent from three-point land — but he did go 3 of 6 on three-pointers for 17 points in the loss at Clemson on March 5.
Copeland was ranked No. 102 overall by Rivals.com in the class of 2022, coming out of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy.
NC State junior power forward Mohamed Diarra is averaging 5.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and is NC State’s best shot-blocking threat.
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheWolfpackCentral
Follow on Instagram/Threads:
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!
Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE
