Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse men’s basketball team takes on the North Carolina State Wolfpack at 7 p.m., Saturday in the JMA Wireless Dome.
The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.
See in-game team and individual stats here.
See betting odds and score prediction here.
Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game vs. N.C. State to see the latest updates
Final: Syracuse 77, North Carolina 65
Syracuse closed the first half on a 23-4 run, holding N.C. State without a field goal over the final 8:21 to open up a double-digit lead it pretty much kept the rest of the way.
Baldwinsville native JJ Starling finished with a career-high 26 points. He scored the team’s first 10 points of the game and sunk four 3s, including one that essentially ended the game once State got within nine in the closing minutes.
Starling’s backcourt mate, Judah Mintz, wasn’t as efficient from the field, but he turned in a nice game overall, relentlessly attacking and getting to the line, distributing the ball, willingly rebounding and stepping in front of a few passes. Mintz scored 14 of his 20 points at the free-throw line.
The backcourt was terrific for the Orange.
Chris Bell hit three first-half 3s. Benny Williams contributed in a lot in the second half, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
And Maliq Brown again made a play that is the type of play that Brown makes on any given night. This one came in the second half after Mintz stepped in front of pass and flinged the ball upcourt to Brown in transition. Brown then made an extra pass to Starling, who buried a corner 3.
Syracuse improves to 14-6 (5-4 ACC) and travels to Boston College on Tuesday night. Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on ACC Network.
Second half
Copeland misses both free throw off the flagrant I foul, then an illegal screen on Brown gives him four fouls and an empty possession for the Orange.
Williams with his second block of the game. He leads the Orange in blocks with Naheem McLeod sidelined for the injury.
N.C. State has gotten this back down to nine but is running out of time with 2:07 remaining. Wolfpack forces a tie-up and has the possession arrow.
Killer turnover on the ensuing possession, as Parker dribbles it off his foot and out of bounds.
JJ Starling cans two free throws to give him a new career high (24 points).
3:41 remaining: Syracuse 71, N.C. State 58
DJ Horne gets an open look from 3 after State battles on the offensive glass to keep the possession alive.
Mintz is up to 19 points after back-to-back field goals.
Williams, off the great feed by Maliq Brown, gets an easy dunk underneath and joins Mintz, Starling and Bell in double figures.
N.C. State got it down to 11 but a quick four-point burst, capped by Starling’s fourth 3 of the game, eases the tension a bit.
Quadir Copeland is fouled hard on a fast-break, then has an N.C. State land on top of him near his head/neck. Officials will review the foul, as it appears DJ Burns may have wrapped his left arm around Copeland as he skied in for the layup.
It’s a flagrant I foul on Burns.
7:58 remaining: Syracuse 59, N.C. State 45
Mintz sinks a pair of free throws on the other side of the under-12 media timeout.
Syracuse has gotten to the free-throw line twice as much as the Wolfpack.
Benny Williams with a dunk as the Orange beats the press. Later, he makes a spectacular catch underneath the basket on the pass by Mintz to finish a reverse layup.
Williams has nine points and four rebounds.
11:54 remaining: Syracuse 52, N.C. State 34
Benny Williams cleans up a short shot by Copeland with the shot clock winding down. Williams, with five points, four rebounds and a block in 14 minutes off the bench, has had a nice night.
Orange has maintained its comfortable lead as the midway mark of the second half draws near.
N.C. State is shooting 25% for the game (15-for-40).
SU has the edge in transition points (15-10) and paint points (18-10).
Starling with a game-high 19 points. Mintz and Bell have 13, with 11 of Mintz’s points coming from the free-throw line.
15:49 remaining: Syracuse 49, N.C. State 28
Two more free throws by Mintz. He then steps in front of a pass to start the offense.
Starling knocks down another 3, N.C. State can’t inbound the ball, and the Wolfpack has unraveled.
Mintz is 10-for-12 at the line.
17:03 remaining: Syracuse 44, N.C. State 27
Judah Mintz opens the second half with a pair of foul shots.
N.C. State snaps a 9-minute field-goal drought before Chris Bell knocks down a fading jumper in the lane.
DJ Horne takes advantage of a Mintz turnover to hit a step-back 3.
Halftime: Syracuse 38, N.C. State 22
JJ Starling scored the first 10 points for SU, and Judah Mintz bookended the half by getting to the line.
N.C. State, meanwhile, was ice cold from the floor, spending the final 8:21 of the half without a made field goal.
The Wolfpack shot 6-for-29 from the floor, and four of those came from beyond the arc. The Orange closed on a 23-4 run as the Wolfpack went cold.
Syracuse has made five 3s — three by Chris Bell and two by Starling.
First half
33.4 remaining: Syracuse 37, N.C. State 22
N.C. State can’t get a shot to fall. It has missed nine-straight shots.
Mintz, who enters the game seventh nationally in free throws made and free throws attempts, knocks down a pair at the line. All five of his first-half points have come at the free-throw line. He’s also got five assists, three steals and three rebounds.
Per the ACC Network stat crew, Mintz gets about 40% of his points at the foul line in conference play. That’s fourth nationally.
Mintz then gets his first field goal.
3:34 remaining: Syracuse 31, N.C. State 20
Bell gets a runout slam, and puts a little extra sauce on the finish. After the dunk, Bell is whistled for a technical for an apparent taunting call.
Anther transition opportunity for the Orange, and Starling goes right at the defender and finishes through contact, plus the foul. Starling misses the foul shot, but he’s got a game-high 14.
Maliq Brown picks up his second foul with 5:08 remaining.
Great look by Starling to Peter Carey, who can’t finish the short hook.
Benny Williams with nice back-side help to strip Diarra going up.
N.C. State hasn’t made a field goal since DJ Burns’ jumper at the 8:21 mark.
Turnovers: N.C. State 6, Syracuse 2
Wolfpack is 6-for-23 from the field, including 4-for-10 from 3.
5:47 remaining: Syracuse 26, N.C. State 18
Bell knocks down his second 3 of the half just ahead of 7 minutes to go.
Starling shakes the defender and hits the mid-range jumper. Starling has 12 first-half points.
Bell again hits from beyond the arc. Syracuse has hit five 3s (on 11 attempts) and is on an 11-0 run to open up an eight-point lead with about 6 minutes remaining in the first half.
7:38 remaining: Syracuse 18, N.C. State 18
Mintz makes one of two foul shots on the other side of the TV timeout.
We’ve got a tie score at each 4-minute media timeout increment here in the first half.
Chris Bell knocks down his first 3 of the game.
11:30 remaining: Syracuse 14, N.C. State 14
Starling continues his hot start. He finishes a tough layup to get in double figures.
Burns checks into the game with 14:10 remaining. Benny Williams and Quadir Copeland sub in for the Orange.
Burns skips a pass across court and hits Dennis Parker Jr. for a 3. DJ Horne steps into a 3 before Williams hits a turnaround jumper off the dribble.
Judah Mintz has started 0-for-4 from the field but has three assists and three steals.
15:37 remaining: Syracuse 8, N.C. State 8
Syracuse opens 0-for-3 from the field, and N.C. State opens with three turnovers before its first shot attempt.
Jayden Taylor and JJ Starling exchange 3s. Starling has SU’s first eight points.
N.C. State big DJ Burns is not in the starting lineup for the first time this season.
Pregame
Syracuse’s starting lineup: Judah Mintz, JJ Starling, Chris Bell, Justin Taylor and Maliq Brown
There’ll be a nostalgic hue to Saturday night’s game against North Carolina State.
Basketball icon Dave Bing will be inducted into the school’s athletic Ring of Honor at halftime. Many of Bing’s former teammates from the 1960s, including Jim Boeheim, Frank Nicoletti, Sam Penceal, Rex Trobridge and George Hicker, will be on hand.
This will be the first game Boeheim attends since his retirement last year.
The present-day basketball is also top of mind: The Orange and Wolfpack enter Saturday’s game with 13-6 overall records, and the numbers suggest these two are, in fact, evenly matched.
The Wolfpack averages 76.1 points per game; the Orange averages 75.3.
Both shoot it at a 44.3% clip.
From beyond the arc, N.C. State shoots it at a 32.8% rate; SU at 32.3%.
Free thows, rebounding, assists, and steals are near even. The Orange has turned the ball over at a higher rate, an area that spelled trouble during Tuesday night’s 16-point loss to Florida State in the JMA Dome.
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