Pack Starts Road Stretch with Trip to Syracuse

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NC State Game Notes | Syracuse Game Notes

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team heads to New York for a road game at Syracuse on Wednesday night.

Tipoff against the Orange is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPNU. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Notes
- NC State recorded its best win of the 2024-25 season with an 85-73 win over Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon. The Pack has now won two of its last three games.
- The Pack jumped out to an 11-0 lead and led for over 33 minutes in the game, but found itself trailing 61-56 with 8:23 to play after an 11-2 Wake Forest run. NC State responded with three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to retake the lead and start an 18-2 run to give the Pack a 74-63 lead with 3:36 to go. The Demon Deacons would get within seven with 1:38 to go, but Paul McNeil, Jr. made a three right before the shot clock expired on the Pack's next possession to prevent any Wake Forest comeback attempt.
- The Pack's 85 points in the win over the Demon Deacons are the most against an ACC opponent this season and the most points for NC State since it scored 89 in a win over Rider on Dec. 22. NC State also hit a season-high 13 three-pointers in the win. It's the most three-pointers for the Pack against an -ACC opponent since hitting 15 in a win at Boston College back on Feb. 11, 2023.
- Freshman Paul McNeil had the best game of his young career as he poured in a career-best 24 points in the win. He shot 8-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. He also tied his career-highs in rebounds (4) and assists (3) in the win.
- McNeil has provided a scoring punch in three of the last four games for NC State. The Rockingham, N.C., native had the first double-digit scoring game of his career with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 13 minutes vs. Louisville on Feb. 12 and then had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 14 minutes at North Carolina last Wednesday. McNeil has scored 52 points in the last four games. He's scored 65 percent of his total points this season (52 of 80) in the last four games.
- Michael O'Connell passed out a career-best 13 assists in the win over Wake Forest. O'Connell's 13 assists are tied for the second-most by an ACC player this season and the most for an NC State player since Markell Johnson had 14 against Miami on Jan. 21, 2018.

Wednesday Storylines
- Senior guard Dontrez Styles registered his second double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday. Styles has now scored 18 or more points in five of the last eight games for the Pack. Over the last eight outings, Styles is averaging 14.1 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. The Kingston, N.C., native has made 19 three-pointers while shooting 44.2 percent from long-range during the last eight game stretch.
- Despite tying its season-high with 13 turnovers on Saturday, NC State still has had six or fewer turnovers in three of its last six games. The Pack has had single digit turnovers in eight of its last 12 games and 14 overall games this season. NC State leads the ACC and ranks 11th in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (9.4). NC State is aiming for a fourth straight season ranked as one of the nation's best teams in valuing the basketball. The Pack finished 12th in the NCAA last season in turnovers, seventh in 2022-23 and 16th in 2023-24 season.
- Freshmen Turning it On: Paul McNeil has posted all three of his double-digit scoring games in the last four games. He's scored 65 percent of his total points this season (52 of 80) in the last four games. Fellow freshman Trey Parker is averaging 8.6 points per game over the last eight outings and has scored 58.5 percent of his total points this season (69 of 118) in the last seven games.
- There are only three active ACC players (and 31 total active players in DI) that have over 500 career assists. Two of those players Michael O'Connell (509 assists) and Syracuse's Jaquan Carlos (500) will be on the court Wednesday night.
- NC State leads the ACC and ranks 32nd in the NCAA in turnover margin at +3.2 while Syracuse ranks 18th in the ACC and 330th in the NCAA with a -2.7 turnover margin. But despite NC State ranking near the top of the league in turnover margin every season under Kevin Keatts, Syracuse is the one team the Pack typically struggles with in the turnover battle. In 11 previous meetings with Syracuse in the Keatts era, NC State has won the turnover battle against the Orange only two times.
- Ben Middlebrooks is one of just seven players in the ACC that has combined for 60 or more blocks and steals this season The NC State senior leads the team in blocks with 38 and is third on the team with 24 steals. Middlebrooks has had 10 games this season where he's finished with three blocks or three steals. The more active Middlebrooks is the better it is for the Pack. NC State is 7-3 when Middlebrooks has multiple blocks in a game this season and is 4-2 when he has multiple steals.
- Get Marcus Hill back on track. Hill has scored just 19 points in the last three games. He remains NC State's leading scorer this season and had scored in double figures in 15 of the 17 games prior to the last three outings.
- Finish out close games. NC State has held a second half lead in 13 of 16 ACC games this season. NC State has led in the second half in nine of its 12 conference losses this season. Seven of the losses have been within one possession with under four minutes to play and NC State has led in the final four minutes in four of those losses.
- One of NC State's calling cards in the Kevin Keatts era is turning opponent's turnovers into points. In the Pack's 11 wins this season, it is averaging 18.5 points per game off opponents turnovers and has outscored the opponents in points off turnovers by 114 points. In the Pack's 16 losses it averages just 11.5 points off opponent turnovers and has outscored its opponents in points off turnovers by just 13 points (184-to-171).

NC State series with Syracuse
- Wednesday will be the 22nd all-time meeting between NC State and Syracuse. The Orange lead the all-time series, 14-7. NC State won the most recent meeting between the two programs, but prior to that win, the Pack had lost seven straight to Syracuse.
- Last Meeting (March 13, 2025): NC State went on a 21-2 run early in the second half to beat Syracuse, 83-65, in the second round of the ACC Tournament. NC State held a 35-32 lead at halftime, but Syracuse opened the second half by scoring seven of the first nine points of the half to take a 39-37 lead with 18:45 to play. The Pack responded with a DJ Horne basket on the ensuing possession. Horne's jumper was the start of a game-turning 21-2 run for the Pack. NC State's defense sparked the run as over the next six minutes the Pack forced six Syracuse turnovers and blocked two shots which allowed NC State to take over the game. While the Pack turned up the defensive pressure, the offense responded on the other end as NC State scored on nine of 10 possessions to turn a two-point deficit into a 17-point lead. Jayden Taylor led four NC State players in double figures with 18 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against the Orange. Michael O'Connell matched his season-high with 16 points, making all three of his three-point attempts.

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Players Mentioned

Marcus Hill

DJ Horne

Paul McNeil

Ben Middlebrooks

Michael O'Connell

Trey Parker

Dontrez Styles

Jayden Taylor