Pack Heads to Syracuse for Saturday Night Tilt

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The NC State men's basketball team (13-6, 5-3) heads to Syracuse Saturday night for a crucial ACC battle against the Orange (13-6, 4-4).

Tipoff at the JMA Wireless Dome is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC Network. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Notes
- NC State dropped its second consecutive game, falling to Virginia, 59-53, in overtime on Wednesday night.
- The Pack scored a season-low 15 points in the first half and trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half (35-21). NC State battled back in the final 13 minutes of regulation, going on an 11-2 run to get within five, 37-32, with 9:14 to go. After a Virginia three-pointer extended its lead back to eight points, the Pack went on a 9-0 run, taking a 41-40 lead with 4:27 left. UVA responded with a 7-2 run to take a 47-43 lead, but NC State scored the final four points of regulation to force overtime. UVA scored the first six points of overtime and the Pack cut the deficit to three two different times, but could never get even again.
- Casey Morsell led NC State in scoring for the second consecutive game. The grad guard scored 13 points and added a team-high three steals. After going through a six game stretch from 12/12 - 1/6 where he scored in single digits five times and averaged just eight points per game, Morsell has now scored in double figures in four of his last five games and is averaging 13 points per game in his last five outings.
- Mohamed Diarra led NC State in rebounding for the fourth straight game, collecting eight rebounds against the Cavaliers on Wednesday night. Diarra has grabbed 40 rebounds in the last four games. He ranks seventh in ACC-only contests in rebounding with an average of 8.6 rebounds per game. When Diarra plays at least 15 minutes a game this season he is averaging 11.0 rebounds per game. (88 rebounds in eight games playing over 15 minutes).
- Pack is Going to Fight: Despite the loss, the Virginia game marked the third time in eight ACC games that the Pack overcame a double-digit second half deficit to take the lead. NC State also trailed by double digits in the second half at Notre Dame and vs. Wake Forest earlier this month and came back to win both games.

Saturday Storylines
- Despite a two game losing streak, NC State has now gotten off to a 5-3 start in ACC play in consecutive seasons. It's the first time the Pack has had back-to-back seasons of 5-3 records or better through eight games in conference play since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. A win on Saturday would give the Pack its best start through nine games in the ACC since the 2011-12 team was 6-3. The Pack's 5-1 start to conference play was the best for the program through six games since the 1988-89 team went 5-1.
- Expect a tight one -- NC State's four ACC road games have all been one possession games in the final minute of regulation. NC State needed overtime to get past Boston College back in December, holding the Eagles scoreless over the last minute of regulation to force overtime. At Notre Dame, NC State didn't take its first lead of the game until DJ Burns, Jr.'s game-winning shot with under one second remaining gave the Pack a 54-52 victory. In the Pack's next road game, it only trailed once at Louisville, and had an 83-69 lead with a little over two minutes to play, but the Cardinals went on an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 83-80 with 34 seconds left. NC State held on for an 89-83 win. And in its last game, the Pack battled back from a 14-point second half deficit to twice take leads late in the game at Virginia, but eventually fell to the Cavaliers in overtime.
- In the last four games, NC State's bench has contributed 103 points and 68 rebounds. The Pack's bench has shot a combined 39-of-73 (53.4%) from the field in the last four outings. NC State's bench is averaging 20.8 points per game this season. It's the highest average for the Pack since the 2018-19 team averaged 29.0 bench points per game.
- NC State ranks 13th in the NCAA in turnover margin (+4.5) and 22nd in the NCAA in turnovers per game (9.8). The Pack has had fewer turnovers than its opponent in 15 of 19 games this season and has had single digit turnovers in 11 games. In eight career meetings against Syracuse with Kevin Keatts as head coach, the Pack averages 15.0 turnovers per game and has had more turnovers than the Orange in seven of the eight meetings.
- Graduate guard DJ Horne clicking from long range. The Arizona State transfer ranks second in the ACC in three-point percentage (42.5%) and fourth in three-point field goals per game (2.68). But the Raleigh, N.C., native got off to a slow start this season from three-point range, through seven games he was only shooting 32.5 percent from downtown (13-of-40). In the last 12 games, Horne is shooting 47.5% from three-point range (38-of-80). Horne can heat up quickly, he has made multiple three-pointers in 14 of 19 games this season. In the 14 games where Horne has made at least two three-pointers, he is shooting 50.5% (48-of-95) from long range.
- Graduate guard Michael O'Connell has passed out 32 assists and had just six turnovers in the last nine outings. He ranks second in the ACC (and ranks 20th in NCAA DI) with a 3.35 assist/turnover ratio. The season is only just past the halfway point, but O'Connell's assist/turnover ratio currently would be the third-best single-season average in program history. Currently, only three players in program history have finished a season with better than a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio.
- O'Connell has played 217 minutes in the last nine games and is averaging just one turnover for every 36.2 minute played during the nine-game span.
- Mohamed Diarra has led NC State in rebounding in four straight games, grabbing 40 rebounds during that span. He ranks seventh in ACC-only contests in rebounding with an average of 8.6 rebounds per game. When Diarra plays at least 15 minutes a game this season he is averaging 11.0 rebounds per game. (88 rebounds in eight games playing over 15 minutes).

NC State Series with Syracuse
- Saturday will be the 19th all-time meeting between the two programs. Syracuse leads the series, 12-6.
- The Orange have won five straight in the series, including the last two meetings at Syracuse.
- The Pack's five-game losing streak to Syracuse is its second-longest current losing streak to an ACC opponent (Clemson - six games)
- Kevin Keatts has a 3-5 record against Syracuse as head coach of the Pack.
- Last Meeting (Feb. 14, 2023): Jarkel Joiner posted the fifth triple-double in program history, but it wasn't enough as Syracuse defeated 23rd-ranked NC State, 75-72. Joiner scored 15 points, had a career-high 11 assists and added 10 rebounds. DJ Burns added 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Pack before fouling out. Syracuse led 63-58 with 6:19 to play when NC State went on a 10-2 run to take a 68-65 lead with 3:46 to go. The Pack led 70-67 when Judah Mintz hit a game-tying three-pointer with 2:42 to go. A three-point play on the Orange's next possession put Syracuse back in front for good. Burns had an and-one opportunity to tie the game, but missed the free throw. NC State forced a shotclock violation on Syracuse's next possession, but Burns was called for an offensive foul with 49 seconds remaining and Syracuse made two free throws to finish the game's scoring.

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Players Mentioned

DJ Burns, Jr.

Mohamed Diarra

DJ Horne

Jarkel Joiner

Casey Morsell

Michael O'Connell