Syracuse basketball looks to get back on track when the Orange travels to N.C. State on Tuesday evening.
The 'Cuse (16-10, 7-8 in the ACC) had an up-and-down last week. Syracuse basketball played its best game of the 2023-24 season in defeating then-No. 7 North Carolina on the Hill, but then the Orange was woeful on offense in a bad loss at Georgia Tech this past Saturday.
Currently, the 'Cuse is tied for ninth place in the ACC regular-season standings, and the team has five games left in the regular term before the ACC Tournament gets underway in Washington, D.C. Syracuse basketball, candidly, isn't anywhere close to the proverbial bubble for this spring's Big Dance, and the Orange doesn't have a lot of opportunities remaining to pick up marquee victories over the next few weeks.
The good news, if you want to call it that, is that the Orange's conference clash at N.C. State (16-9, 8-6 in the ACC) on Tuesday night is currently a quadrant-one chance for the 'Cuse, because the Wolfpack's NCAA NET ranking is No. 75 as of this writing.
Syracuse basketball, at present, is No. 90 in the NET, with quadrant-one successes at home versus UNC and also a road triumph over Pittsburgh earlier in the 2023-24 stanza.
How to watch Syracuse basketball at N.C. State.
The Orange and the Wolfpack will battle beginning at 7 pm from the PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 20, with ESPN2 airing this league affair. Coverage may also be available on fuboTV.
Per FanDuel, the 'Cuse is a 5.5-point betting underdog at N.C. State, with the over/under set at 152.5 points.
In late January at the JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse basketball picked up a 77-65 win against the Wolfpack on the same night that 'Cuse legend Dave Bing was inducted into the SU Athletics Ring of Honor.
The Orange has defeated N.C. State on six straight occasions, and Syracuse basketball leads their all-time series, 13-6.
From an efficiency standpoint, according to KenPom, neither of these teams are overly good on offense, although both the 'Cuse and the Wolfpack are in the top 60 as it pertains to adjusted defensive efficiency.
Syracuse basketball and N.C. State each averages about 75 points per game on offense, but neither squad is particularly stellar at shooting the ball from the field or beyond the arc. To me, where this game will be won is in the rebounding department, as well as the turnover arena.
Due to injuries and other factors, the Orange's front-court depth is significantly thin these days, and the 'Cuse got pounded on the boards in its setback to Georgia Tech on the road.
Syracuse basketball shot lights out against the Tar Heels, but that kind of shooting is relatively hard to come by in 2023-24 for the Orange. The 'Cuse is going to have to hold its own on the glass and create easy scoring opportunities out in transition following defensive rebounds, deflections and steals.
It's imperative that starting big man Maliq Brown avoids foul trouble. Junior center Mounir Hima continues to not play all that much, while sophomore center Peter Carey has been unavailable for three consecutive contests due to being in concussion protocol.
I also think that it's vital the Orange gets off to a fast start at N.C. State. The 'Cuse looked a bit sluggish and stagnant at Georgia Tech, and the 'Cuse will want to keep the home crowd from getting boisterous at the onset of this ACC encounter.