Game facts
Syracuse (13-9 overall, 5-4 ACC) at NC State (14-8 overall, 3-6 ACC)
Game time: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m. — PNC Arena in Raleigh
Television: ESPN2
Probable starters
NC State
PG — 4 Dennis Smith Jr. (6-3, 195, Fr., 19.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 6.5 apg, 2.2 spg)
SG — 3 Terry Henderson (6-5, 190, R-Sr., 14.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.7 apg)
SF — 24 Maverick Rowan (6-7, 220, Soph., 11.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.8 apg)
PF — 0 Abdul-Malik Abu (6-8, 240, Jr., 11.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 bpg)
C — 14 Omer Yurtseven (7-0, 245, Fr., 6.6 ppg, 5.5 r4pg, 1.2 apg)
Syracuse
PG — 4 John Gillon (6-0, 178, R-Sr., 8.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.5 spg)
SG — 25 Tyus Battle (6-6, 205, Fr., 10.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.5 spg)
SF — 3 Andrew White (6-7, 210, R-Sr., 16.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.5 spg)
PF — 20 Tyler Lydon (6-9, 223, Soph., 14.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.5 bpg)
C — 12 Taurean Thompson (6-10, 225, Fr., 8.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.6 apg, 1.0 bpg)
Syracuse
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Nickname: Orange
2015-16 record: 23-14 overall, 9-9 ACC
2016 postseason: Lost 83-66 to North Carolina in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament
Coach: Jim Boeheim 41st season overall and at Syracuse (897-351, 101 wins vacated by NCAA)
Notes
Syracuse overview: The Orange made a shocking run to the Final Four last year, and methodically fighting through NCAA sanctions that have limited the number of scholarship players. Syracuse is playing just eight scholarship players.
Senior guards Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije exhausted their college eligibility and then freshman wing Malachi Richardson surprisingly turned pro.
The Orange also had a few recruiting mistakes over the years, especially at point guard, and needed to plug holes with three additions last spring — graduate transfers Andrew White and John Gillon and freshman Taurean Thompson. All three are currently starters along with freshman shooting guard Tyus Battle.
Syracuse entered the ACC with an average 8-5 non-conference mark with zero wins over programs from the top six conferences. The Orange opened up with a 96-81 loss to Boston College on Jan. 1, but has righted the ship since then.
Backcourt: White started his college career at Kansas and transferred to Nebraska before making his way to Syracuse, and Gillon made the move from Colorado State and Arkansas-Little Rock.
White’s numbers from the Big Ten are similar to what he’s accomplishing at Syracuse in the ACC. He shot 41.2 percent from three-point land last year en route to 16.6 points per game, and had a career-high 35 points against Penn State on Feb. 13, 2016, and 30 against Abilene Christian on Dec. 5, 2015.
The former NC State recruiting target is shooting 40.6 percent this season on three-pointers, but has dipped nearly six percentage points to 42.2 percent from the field.
That said, White is playing some of his best basketball the last two games. He has combined for 51 points and nine three-pointers in back-to-back wins over Wake Forest and Florida State. He had 24 points, nine rebounds and four steals in the upset win over the Seminoles last Saturday, and a season-high 27 against Wake Forest on Jan. 24.
White has scored at least 21 points in five ACC games, while only accomplishing the feat once during the non-conference portion of the schedule. He has made at least four three-pointers in 11 games, and made a season-best 7 of 13 on three-pointers vs. North Florida on Dec. 3.
Gillon averaged 13.2 points and 3.8 assists for Colorado State last year, shooting 33.3 percent on three-pointers and just 38.3 percent from the field. He has an impressive 114 assist and 36 turnovers in an Orange uniform, and is shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Gillon easily had his top game for Syracuse in the win over Florida State. He exploded for 21 points and 11 assists, which was his second double-double of the season. He previously had 20 points, 11 assists and six three-pointers (in 12 attempts) in a 77-66 win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 7.
Gillon, who has started 11 games, has cracked double figures in nine contests, and had a season-high 23 points and shot 6 of 7 on three-pointers in a 99-77 win over Boston on Dec. 10. The Wolfpack also topped the Terriers this season.
Battle was a Rivals.com four-star prospect, and originally had verbally committed to Michigan. He made the switch to Syracuse but was injured for parts of his senior year of high school.
Battle got off to a slow start the first 10 games of the season while adjusting to college, but has found his groove under a heavier workload — he has played 40 minutes in five ACC games. The New Jersey product has 13 starts on the season.
Battle scored a career-high 21 points against Boston College, and has tallied at least 13 points in five of the last seven contests. He is shooting an impressive 40 percent from three-point land and 43.7 percent from the field.
Sophomore point guard Franklin Howard, a former NCSU recruiting target, is averaging 5.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in 19 minutes per game. Howard, who has started 14 out of 21 games played, is shooting just 35 percent from the field and 29.7 percent on three-pointers. The 6-5, 205-pounder has scored at least 10 points in five games and dished out at least 11 assists in four. He had 10 points, 13 assists and four steals in the win over North Florida, and has three double-doubles on the season.
Frontcourt: The perimeter might only have four scholarship players, but the two post spots have five different options.
Lydon and Thompson have become the recent pairing, with senior power forward Tyler Roberson coming off the bench this season (just six starts). Fifth-year senior center DaJuan Coleman has battled serious injuries throughout his Orange career, and has started 13 out of 16 games he has played in.
Lydon flashed his immense potential last year in averaging 10.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He has improved in nearly every category, and is shooting an impressive 37 of 84 on three-pointers (37 of 84), and 49.8 percent from the field.
The versatile Lydon got off to a bit of a slow start his first eight games, but has been playing some of his best ball of late. He had a combined 50 points and 17 rebounds in road losses to North Carolina on Jan. 16 and at Notre Dame on Jan. 21.
Lydon had 29 points and nine rebounds in a 78-71 win vs. Georgetown on Dec. 17, and has six double-doubles on the season for points and rebounds.
Thompson had one of the longest recruitments in the class of 2016, but eventually picked Syracuse over Michigan State, Seton Hall and Providence, among others. Rivals.com ranked him No. 84 coming out of high school, and he has likely surpassed first-year expectations. The big man is shooting 53.4 percent from the field and recently had 18 points and two blocks in the win over Wake Forest. The Manhattan, N.Y., native had a career-high 22 points and seven rebounds in the win over Boston, and he has scored 18 points three times. He has cracked double figures in 11 games.
Roberson was a steady presence a year ago as a starter, averaging 8.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game. He had 14 points and 20 rebounds in a win over Duke last year, and had 10 points and 18 rebounds in the Orange’s NCAA Tournament opener against Dayton.
The 6-8, 228-pound Roberson’s playing time has been lowered to 20.2 minutes a contest, averaging 6.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. He most recently responded with 10 points and seven boards in 33 minutes in the win over Florida State.
Roberson’s uneven playing time has resulted in three double-doubles and seven contests with at least 10 points. He had a season-high 18 points in the opener against Colgate, and had six blocks (plus 10 rebounds) against Pittsburgh.
The 6-9, 258-pound Coleman has also seen his role reduced of late. He didn’t play in six of the last nine games, and logged just one minute against Miami. The former Rivals.com five-star recruit has battled injuries throughout his Syracuse career. He had 10 points and 16 rebounds in a 52-50 loss vs. UConn on Dec. 5, and had 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks on Dec. 21.
Redshirt sophomore center Pascal Chukwu, a Providence transfer, has battled an eye injury and has only played in seven games. He last played against Boston.
Freshman forward Matthew Moyer is redshirting this season.
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