Syracuse Basketball: Top takeaways as ‘Cuse conquers N.C. State on Dave Bing’s night

With ‘Cuse legends Dave Bing and Jim Boeheim in the house, Syracuse basketball shook off a bad home loss a few days ago against Florida State and took care of business in a 12-point triumph over N.C. State on Saturday evening in Central New York.

Bing, one of the all-time greats for the Orange, was inducted into the SU Athletics Ring of Honor at halftime on Saturday night, as the ‘Cuse built up a 38-22 advantage at the break.

After being dreadful from deep this past Tuesday against the Seminoles, the Orange hit some timely 3-pointers in its conquest of N.C. State, a critical Atlantic Coast Conference result that the ‘Cuse needed for its post-season resume.

Entering this conference clash, the Wolfpack and Syracuse basketball had similar NCAA NET rankings, and the Orange could ill-afford to fall again on the Hill against a solid, but not great, league foe.

With about 16 minutes to go in the second half, the ‘Cuse found itself up by 21 points, but N.C. State (13-7, 5-4 in the ACC) chipped away at its deficit and managed to trim the margin to just nine points late in this ACC affair.

However, the Wolfpack was unable to complete a massive comeback, and the Orange (14-6, 5-4 in the ACC) wound up winning by a final count of 77-65, buoyed by a career night from J.J. Starling.

My key observations and takeaways as Syracuse basketball beat N.C. State.

•It was beautiful to see Jim Boeheim in attendance as his former Orange teammate and SU roommate, Dave Bing, entered the ‘Cuse Ring of Honor. Thankfully, the Orange pulled out a victory with Boeheim, the Hall of Famer and former long-time ‘Cuse head coach, and Bing, one of the program’s all-time leading scorers, in the crowd.

•Also on the Hill this weekend was 2025 four-star point guard and top-20 national prospect Tyler Jackson from Baltimore on his official visit to Syracuse basketball. Jackson, offered a scholarship by the Orange last April, is a junior who plays in the Atlanta-based professional league Overtime Elite.

•In the win over N.C. State, Starling, the sophomore guard and Central New York native, continued his brilliant play of late. He poured in a career-high 26 points and hit four 3-pointers. Oh, and Starling also played all 40 minutes.

•Sophomore point guard Judah Mintz keeps on proving he’s one of the nation’s best when it comes to scoring at the free-throw line. He went 14-of-20 from the charity stripe, finishing with 20 points and nine assists.

•Sophomore forward Chris Bell connected on a trio of 3-pointers and had 13 points. Junior forward Benny Williams made a few excellent shots around the rim, including a thunderous dunk, tallying 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

•Let’s give some love to sophomore big man Peter Carey. He played 11 minutes and grabbed four boards. Most importantly, Carey held his own on defense against some physical N.C. State interior players.

•In the team’s setback to FSU, Syracuse basketball went a paltry 1-of-14 from beyond the arc. On Saturday night, the Orange hit on nearly 39 percent from long range and more than 44 percent from the field as a whole.

•On the glass, the ‘Cuse only lost that battle to N.C. State by one rebound, 41-40.

•The Orange, after committing 16 miscues versus Florida State, only had nine turnovers against the Wolfpack, a group that had 14 turnovers of its own.

•In other statistical categories, Syracuse basketball led 21-19 in fast-break points, 15-14 in assists, 4-2 in blocks, 10-4 in steals, 16-8 in points off turnovers, and 32-30 in paint points.

•When I wrote this column on late Saturday evening, the Orange was No. 31 nationally via KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency. The ‘Cuse defense, lately, has proven solid. Syracuse basketball limited N.C. State to 36 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3-point land.

•The Orange has now beaten the Wolfpack on six straight occasions and holds an all-time lead of 13-6 over N.C. State.

•With its three-game homestand completed, Syracuse basketball next will travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to face Boston College starting at 7 pm on Tuesday, Jan. 30, with television coverage on the ACC Network. Earlier in the 2023-24 season, on January 10, the Orange defeated the Eagles at the Dome, 69-59.