Pack Welcomes Syracuse to PNC Arena Tuesday Night

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NC State Game Notes | Syracuse Game Notes

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (16-9, 8-6) plays at home for the first time in almost two weeks Tuesday night when it hosts Syracuse (16-10, 7-8 ACC) inside PNC Arena.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Notes
- NC State battled back from a 12-point second half deficit to beat Clemson, 78-77, Saturday evening at Littlejohn Coliseum. The win was the first for NC State at Clemson since March 3, 2015.
- The Pack led 39-35 at halftime and scored the first basket of the second half to up its advantage to six, but Clemson went on a 14-0 run to take control and eventually extended its lead to 12 points, 61-49, with a little over 10 minutes to play. The Tigers lead was still 10 points, 65-55, with nine minutes to go when the Pack went on a 16-6 run to tie the game at 71 with 3:30 left in the game. Clemson would score six of the next eight points to take a 77-73 lead, but the Pack would outscore Clemson 5-0 in the final 50 seconds to win, 78-77.
- DJ Horne led the Pack with 27 points, including the game-winning basket with nine seconds to go. Horne scored 13 of NC State's final 16 points of the game. The Raleigh native finished the game 10-of-20 from the field, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. DJ Burns, Jr. (14 points on 6-9 FG), Jayden Taylor (12 points) and Mohamed Diarra (11 points, nine rebounds, career-high three steals) also scored in double figures.
- Horne has now led NC State in scoring in eight of the last ten games. He has made three or more three-pointers in eight consecutive games and has now made three of more three-pointers in 14 of 25 games this season. Horne's 75 three-pointers are the fourth-most by an ACC player this season and his 43.4 percent three-point field goal percentage is the second-best mark in the conference.
- Horne has scored 24 or more points in five consecutive games. He is averaging 26.6 points per game over the last five outings and is shooting 51.8 percent (44-of-85) from the field, including 48.8 percent (21-of-43) from three-point range. Horne is now averaging 19.3 points per game in 14 ACC games, the second highest scoring average in conference play.

Tuesday Storylines
- For the second consecutive game, the Pack has a chance to snap its longest losing streak to an ACC team. On Saturday, NC State snapped a six-game losing streak to Clemson with a 78-77 win at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tuesday's opponent Syracuse now has the longest winning streak over the Pack, having beat NC State in six consecutive games. The Pack has lost its last two games to Syracuse at PNC Arena, last beating the Orange in Raleigh on February 13, 2019. NC State has beaten the other 13 ACC teams in PNC Arena since it last beat Syracuse at home.
- Orange have had the Pack's number when it comes to turnovers: In the Kevin Keatts era, its normally NC State causing the other team to turn it over. The Pack has had fewer turnovers than its opponents in 140 of the 217 games (64.5%) he's been head coach, but in nine career meetings against Syracuse, the Pack has had more turnovers than Syracuse eight times, including earlier this season when NC State had 14 turnovers while Syracuse only had nine. NC State is 14-5 this season when it wins the turnover battle, but is just 2-4 when it has the same number or more turnovers than its opponent.
- With five straight games of 20 or more points, DJ Horne is the first NC State player since Terquavion Smith (done last season and his freshman year in 201-22) to have straight games of 20 or more points. If Horne scores over 20 points on Tuesday, he'll be the first NC State player since Cat Barber in the 2015-16 season to have six straight games over 20 or more points. Barber had a seven-game stretch in the 2015-16 season where he scored 20+ points.
- Horne's four straight games over 25 points is the longest 25+ streak by an NC State player since Cat Barber in the 2015-16 season. Barber had a five-game stretch Jan. 27, 2016 to Feb. 13, 2016 where he scored over 25 points each game. Barber scored 161 points during that five-game streak, averaging 32.2 points per game.
- If DJ Horne scores in double figures on Tuesday night it'll be the 100th double-digit scoring effort of his collegiate career (in 146 career games). If Horne scores over 20 points it'll be the 25th 20+-point performance for Horne.
- Horne clicking from long range. The Arizona State transfer ranks fourth in the ACC in three-point field goals per game (3.0) and second in three-point percentage (43.4%). 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 18 games, Horne is shooting 46.6% from three-point range (62-of-133). Horne can heat up quickly, he has made multiple three-pointers in 20 of 25 games this season. In the 20 games where Horne has made at least two three-pointers, he is shooting 48.6% (72-of-148) from long range.
- Speaking of clicking from long range, Mohamed Diarra is now 5-for-5 from three-point range in the Pack's last two games. He only made five three-pointers total in NC State's first 23 games this season.
- Grad guard Michael O'Connell leads the ACC in assist/turnover ratio with a 3.08 average in overall games and also leads the ACC in conference-only games with a 2.80 assist/turnover ratio. O'Connell had arguably his worst game of the season in the first meeting between these two teams, passing out just one assist and tying his season-high with three turnovers while only playing 18 minutes (his second fewest minutes played against an ACC opponent this season). Since the last game against Syracuse, O'Connell has passed out 19 assists against just five turnovers. NC State is 12-3 this season when he passes out three or more assists.
- Pack has to keep Syracuse off the foul line. Syracuse shot 32 free throws in its win back in January, the most by an ACC opponent this season. Syracuse guard Judah Mintz had 18 of the Orange's 32 free throw attempts. The 18 free throw attempts are the most by an opponent this season.
- Casey Morsell - the mainstay in the starting lineup. NC State started its seventh different starting lineup combination on Saturday night at Clemson. Eight different players have started for the Pack this season, but Morsell is now the only NC State player to start every game this season. He has started 72 consecutive games, dating back to the 2021-22 season. His 72 starts tie him with Richard Howell (2011-13) for the 10th-longest starting streak in program history.
- NC State leads the ACC and ranks 31st in the NCAA with an average of 13.9 fast break points per game. NC State is 14-4 this season when it has more fast break points than its opponent, but is just 2-5 when its opponent has more fast break points. In the earlier meeting against the Orange, Syracuse outscored NC State 21-19 in fast break points. The 21 fast break points for Syracuse are the most allowed by NC State this season and the most the Pack has given up since Syracuse had 21 fast break points last season in its win over NC State.

NC State Series with Syracuse
- Tuesday will be the 20th all-time meeting between the two programs. Syracuse leads the series, 13-6.
- The Orange have won six straight in the series, including the last two meetings in Raleigh.
- The Pack's six-game losing streak to Syracuse is its longest current losing streak to an ACC opponent.
- Kevin Keatts has a 3-6 record against Syracuse as head coach of the Pack.

Pack Welcomes Syracuse to PNC Arena Tuesday Night

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Players Mentioned

DJ Burns, Jr.

Mohamed Diarra

DJ Horne

Casey Morsell

Michael O'Connell

Terquavion Smith

Jayden Taylor