The Syracuse basketball squad, firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, hosts N.C. State on Valentine’s Day in a pivotal ACC showdown.
The 2017-18 regular season is winding down, and, yet again, the ‘Cuse hoops outfit finds itself in familiar territory.
Much like in the previous two stanzas, SU’s status for a Big Dance invite remains completely cloudy, but with ample opportunities to pick up signature successes and bolster its resume.
The Orange (17-8, 6-6) secured an impressive road conquest at Louisville last week, then it held on versus Wake Forest this past Sunday afternoon at the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse locked down on defense in the first half against the Demon Deacons, however, after intermission, WF hit an insane amount of 3-pointers to climb back into the contest. That led head coach Jim Boeheim, clearly frustrated, to throw off his jacket.
In the end, though, SU did just enough to squeak out a win and, simultaneously, exact some sweet revenge on the Demon Deacons for a recent setback on their turf.
Now the ‘Cuse gets ready to face off with N.C. State (16-9, 6-6) on Wednesday evening in Central New York.
The Wolfpack, with a RPI of 73, is a challenging crew to figure out. On the one hand, N.C. State has tremendous triumphs over Arizona, Clemson, Duke and North Carolina, all of whom are currently in the top-25 rankings.
On the flip side, the Wolfpack does possess nine defeats, albeit to a handful of formidable foes such as the aforementioned Tar Heels and Tigers, as well as Miami, Tennessee and Virginia.
The bottom line is that the Orange, with a RPI of 41, better come ready to roll, because N.C. State is going to prove a tough out.
Overall, Syracuse has a 7-3 edge in its series with the Wolfpack, including an OT thriller roughly a year ago in which our guys prevailed, 100-93, behind 43 massive points from graduate transfer John Gillon.
SU has struggled on offense for the majority of the 2017-18 campaign, but it did manage 78 points in each of its previous two outings.
Should the ‘Cuse continue to collect that level of scoring, while excelling in its 2-3 zone, then the Orange definitely has a legitimate shot at hearing its name called on Selection Sunday.
N.C. State generates a ton more points and, conversely, gives up way more points than Syracuse. Pretty much the same story as every SU opponent.
Other statistical categories, namely rebounds, blocks, steals and turnovers committed, are virtually identical. The Wolfpack holds an advantage in assists, as well as in field-goal and 3-point shooting percentages.
Both the ‘Cuse and N.C. State are lumped together in a crowded bunch within the middle of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, so this affair is extremely critical as March inches closer.
At this juncture, on the Bracket Matrix Web site, the Orange is projected as one of the final teams in the field of 68. As of Tuesday morning, Syracuse is in 71 of 101 brackets.
In short, JB’s roster, which is minus freshman point guard Howard Washington for the rest of the season and potentially redshirt freshman forward Matthew Moyer in the near term, has a razor-thin margin for error.
Next: Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History
A victory versus the Wolfpack is imperative for SU to stay in the hunt for a berth in the NCAA Tournament.