Issuu

IN THE PAINT

su vs n.c. state

f e b r u a r y 2 6 - 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | d a i ly o r a n g e . c o m

2 february 26–27, 2016

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t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r ac u s e , n e w y o r k

Mara Corbett

Justin Mattingly

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february 26–27, 2016 3

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TYLER ROBERSON was criticized by Jim Boeheim after scoring no points and grabbing only four rebounds in Syracuse’s last game against Pittsburgh. He’ll look to bounce back in Saturday’s matchup against North Carolina State in SU’s last home game of the regular season. jessica sheldon staff photographer

UNPLUGGED

Roberson looks to rebound against N.C. State after going scoreless in loss to Pitt senior staff writer

im Boeheim clapped his hands two times as Tyler Roberson walked slowly off the court. Trevor Cooney jogged slowly next to him. The two met their head coach, one on each side, but Boeheim only stuck out his right hand to high-five Cooney and gave no physical acknowledgement to Roberson. There was 9:50 left and SU trailed by two to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Roberson had recorded no points and collected just three rebounds despite playing 21 minutes.

Tyler Roberson didn’t score a single point in Syracuse’s most recent game against Pittsburgh

“If I had anybody else he wouldn’t play a minute,” Boeheim said. “Not a minute.” Roberson, who collected 14 points and 20 rebounds against then-No. 20 Duke nearly a month before his worst showing of the season against Pittsburgh, wasn’t the aggressive presence he’s been known for much of this year. He didn’t use open space to attack the rim on offense, and wasn’t all over the glass like his

8.5 rebounds per game suggests he typically is. Syracuse (18-10, 8-7 Atlantic Coast) and Roberson face North Carolina State (14-14, 4-11) at 2 p.m. in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. And, like Pittsburgh, the Wolfpack score most of its points on the interior and has one of the best offensive rebounding rates in the country. Another game, another challenge directed Roberson’s way. “I think I played hard. I don’t know, the past few games haven’t been going my way,” Roberson said after the Pittsburgh game. “All I can really control is playing hard and trying to help the team win. And I think deep down, I’ve been trying to do that.” Roberson scored in double figures in five straight games that ended with his dominant performance at Duke on Jan. 18. During that stretch, he also averaged 11.2 rebounds. But in the eight games since, he’s scored in double figures just once and averaged seven rebounds. He has five points in the last two games. His struggles have been tangible, but also hard for him to explain. When he caught the ball with space on the baseline early in the first half against Pitt, he didn’t attack the rim. Instead he dribbled to his right and dumped it off to Cooney, who was defended. When Cooney fed it right back to him, he hesitated before penetrating toward the basket and missed a contested shot that was his only attempt of the afternoon.

notching 14 points and 20 rebounds at Duke on Jan. 18, CAN HE REBOUND? Since Roberson’s production has slowed in SU’s last two games. 15

Rebounds

By Sam Blum

9 8

6 4 4

3 UVA

UND

FSU

LVILLE

PITT

Opponent

“I thought he had some chances to go and be aggressive,” Cooney said. “He’s done that at times this year. I don’t know. He’s a big part of us offensively and defensively. If you look at the games when he’s aggressive and rebounds and makes plays, we’re a better team. I think he knows that. I think everyone knows that.” When Mike Hopkins was serving as the interim head coach earlier this season, he said sometimes SU gets a “plugged-in” Roberson and sometimes they don’t. But it’s hard to tell when that will happen. “If Tyler Roberson is going to play, he’s got to get us some points or rebounds,” Boeheim said. “… You can’t have a junior be in the pro-

gram and play all the time and you get to your junior year and score. You can’t win that way.” Roberson’s normally quiet, but he spoke so softly after Saturday’s loss to Pittsburgh that it was almost impossible to hear at times. When asked about Boeheim saying he wouldn’t play a minute, he whispered, “that’s what he thinks.” When asked what he can do going forward he said, “just keep working.” He didn’t say much, but his insistence that nothing is different contrasts the belief of his head coach and even some teammates. Said Roberson: “I think I’ve been doing the same thing I’ve been doing every game.” sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3

4 february 26–27, 2016

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women’s basketball

SU clinches No. 3 seed in ACC tourney with win at BC By Jon Mettus digital editor

Syracuse forced 33 turnovers and scored 33 points off them to cruise to a 71-55, regular season-ending win over Boston College (1414, 2-13 Atlantic Coast) on Thursday night. The No. 18 Orange (23-6, 13-3) clinched a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, earning a double bye, and tied a program record for regular season wins. SU finished the regular season on a program-best nine-game conference winning streak. It matched its program record for conference wins (13) in a regular season. The Orange won’t play again until March 4 at 8 p.m. in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the third round of the conference tournament. “It’s definitely been the best since I’ve been here. It’s been the best in our program history,” Syracuse assistant coach Vonn Read said. The Eagles had turned the ball over on nearly

half of their possessions when the first quarter ended, but shot 69 percent from the floor and 75 percent from 3-point range to stay in the game. “We kind of let them get away from us a little bit,” Read said. “… They were making some shots, but once we settled down we did a better job.” SU’s press was stingy, but its offense struggled to pull away. After BC tied the game with six and a half minutes remaining in the half, the Orange responded with a 10-0 run to lead 39-29 at the break. For nearly 12 minutes, going back to the start of the SU run, the Eagles didn’t score a point and turned the ball over 13 times. Boston College pulled within four points in the final minute of the third quarter, but couldn’t hold on. The Orange countered with a 22-4 run that lasted until there was just a minute left in the fourth and the game was very much out of reach. jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus

MAGGIE MORRISON and the Orange relied on stellar defense to beat BC and end the regular season on a nine-game win streak. evan jenkins staff photographer

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february 26–27, 2016 5

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TREVOR COONEY (LEFT) AND MICHAEL GBINIJE (RIGHT) will be honored before Saturday’s senior day game against North Carolina State. The two fifth-year seniors will look to lead the Orange to victory in the last regular season home game of the season. logan reidsma senior staff photographer

One last time

Cooney and Gbinije play final regular season games in the Carrier Dome senior staff writer

revor Cooney and Michael Gbinije have been preparing for the final run of their college seasons for five years. Since 2011. Half a decade. In the one-and-done era of big-time college basketball, Cooney and Gbinije are each something of an anomaly. Cooney ranked 65th in the Class of 2011 but redshirted as a freshman. Gbinije started at Duke, left after one season and looked on from the bench as the Orange lost to Michigan in the 2013 Final Four in Atlanta. That’s what brought the pair to this point — two fifth-year seniors trying to steady the steering wheel of SU’s up-and-down season. Before Syracuse (18-10, 8-7 Atlantic Coast) hosts N.C. State (14-14, 4-11) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Cooney and Gbinije will be honored at half court for the program’s annual Senior Day ceremony, along with walk-on transfer Christian White who hasn’t played this season. Then they’ll play their last regular season home game, which comes a week after their worst collective performance of the year, and try to cap their Carrier Dome careers with a much-needed win. “Not too many people have two fifth-year guards who are 1,000-point scorers who have won a ton of games, have played in a ton of games,” SU assistant coach Mike Hopkins said Thursday. “At the end of the day, legacy

is about winning and legacy, to me, is staying through adversity and getting through it, taking the high road and doing your best.” Hopkins pointed to the pair’s last two seasons — mired by a self-imposed postseason ban, NCAA violations and a nine-game suspension for SU head coach Jim Boeheim — and said Cooney and Gbinije could have transferred and played their fifth seasons at any other school. But aside from some talk about Gbinije declaring for the NBA Draft last spring, the idea of Cooney and Gbinije ditching Syracuse in a turbulent time wasn’t even floated as a possibility. And it hasn’t been a two-man effort per se, but Cooney and Gbinije have teamed to gather the pieces after Syracuse started 0-4 in ACC play and looked light years away from an NCAA Tournament bid. Gbinije, in his first season as a full-time point guard, is tied for fifth in the ACC in scoring (averaging 17 points a game) and is the only player in the conference to score in double figures in every game this season. Cooney has been spotty at times, but he scored 25 in a win at Wake Forest, 22 in a home win over then-No. 25 Notre Dame and has been a rock at the top of the 2-3 zone. In the bigger picture, Cooney has made the third most 3s in program history (263 and counting), and Gbinije is on the short list of transfers who’ve seemingly been at Syracuse all along. “They’ve been tremendous, Mike for three years and Trevor, especially the last

three,” Boeheim said Monday on the ACC coaches teleconference. “They’ve been key guys for us, tremendously underrated on the defensive end. “They’re both very, very good defensive players. And both guys have been really solid for us this year. They’ve played really good basketball this year.” Before the start of practice Wednesday, Cooney and Gbinije were as loose as they’ve been all season. Gbinije played a slowmotion game of one-on-one with Hopkins and tried to make layups while throwing the ball as high as he could. On the other end of the court, Cooney launched 35-foot 3s and challenged assistant coach Gerry McNamara to do the same. On Saturday, they will walk to center court in the Carrier Dome and hold up their framed jerseys while the crowd showers them with cheers. Then they’ll play in a game that, at least in small part, will sway how that same crowd places them in program history. Overachievers or underachievers. Greats or very goods. Those who did everything or those who couldn’t quite do enough. But if you ask those within the program, Cooney and Gbinije have little left to prove. “This last stretch of the season is important for them, it would be important to any players,” Hopkins said. “But we know what those guys have meant. They are committed to this program and committed to being great, and that’s all we’ve ever asked of them.” jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse

PARTING SHOTS

Percentage of games Gbinije and Cooney have started in the last two seasons

908

Minutes Gbinije and Cooney have played together this season

ONE-TWO PUNCH Gbinije and Cooney have turned into a two-man scoring machine.

combined points per game

By Jesse Dougherty

30.2

26.1

15.5

2013-14

2014-15 season

2015-16

TRE COON

the independent student new

photo by logan reidsma senior staff photographer

VOR NEY

w s pa pe r of s y r ac us e , n e w yor k

8 february 26–27, 2016

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SU opponent preview: What to know about N.C. State By Jesse Dougherty

LONE WOLVES

senior staff writer

North Carolina State visits Syracuse for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, nearly one year after the Orange’s season ended unceremoniously at PNC Arena in Raleigh. This time around, the Wolfpack (14-14, 4-11 Atlantic Coast) is all but eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention while Syracuse (18-10, 8-7) needs a win to preserve a reeling postseason resume. To heighten the “drama” of the game, it will feature the ACC’s best scorer in Anthony “Cat” Barber (23.1 points per game) and its fifth-best scorer in Michael Gbinije (17 points per game). Here’s what you need to know about N.C. State heading into the matchup. All-time series: 5-3 in favor of Syracuse. Last time they played: On March 7,

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23.1

Percentage of total possible minutes played by the N.C. State bench. N.C. State ranks 331st out of 351 teams in bench minutes.

source: kenpom.com.

2015, the Orange had self-imposed a postseason ban a month earlier and had one more game left in a forgettable season. N.C. State — which would later upset top-seeded Villanova in the NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet 16 located in Syracuse — beat the Orange 71-57. Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner, neither of whom are on this year’s team, each scored 19 points to lead the Wolfpack. The N.C. State report: It’s been a really weird season for N.C. State. The Wolfpack started 0-5 in ACC play and haven’t really recovered from that, but its four conference wins are all rather impressive. The first was a 17-point road win over Pittsburgh, then a 16-point home win over then-No. 15 Miami,

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then a 99-88 slugfest win over Wake Forest and, lastly, a three-point win over Clemson on Feb. 20. What this shows is that N.C. State can show up and compete on any given night, and has an offense capable of shouldering a defense that yields 73.2 points per game and ranks 13th out of 15 ACC teams. After Barber, freshman shooter Maverick Rowan is the team’s next highest scorer with 12.8 points per game. Abdul-Malik Abu is the Wolfpack’s inside presence, averaging 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game — and his 13.6 offensive rebounding percentage ranks fourth in the conference, according to Kenpom.com. Those three have been the most consistent players in what has been a tight seven-man rotation. How Syracuse beats N.C. State: By not focusing too much on Barber. Yes, N.C. State is extremely reliant on the junior point guard, but the Orange could get burned if

13.3 N.C. State ends 13.3 percent of its possessions in turnovers — the worst rate of all ACC teams.

13.6 When Abdul-Malik Abu is on the floor for N.C. State, he has rebounded 13.6 percent of available offensive rebounds.

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Despite losing 11 ACC games, Kenpom.com ranks N.C. State as the 69th best team in college basketball.

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Star Wolpack point guard Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber plays 96 percent of his team’s minutes.

it overextends in his direction. If the top of the zone is keying on Barber too much, Rowan and twins Caleb and Cody Martin are all capable of beating SU from deep. It also could open up the corners, a spot the Wolfpack has favored against the Syracuse zone in recent seasons. It could also create a rebounding issue if guards and wings aren’t back to help out, because Abu and N.C. State center Beejay Anya have made the Wolfpack the 16th-best offensive rebounding team in the country (based on Kenpom’s offensive rebounding percentage). As always, the Orange will have to shoot well to win. But N.C. State’s only way to win is by lighting up the scoreboard, and letting players aside from Barber get open and heat up is an easy way to let it do just that. Statistic to know: Teams are shooting 37.2 percent from 3 against the Wolfpack this season, ranking it 303rd among 351 Division I teams in perimeter defense. If there was ever a game for Syracuse to snap out of a team-wide shooting slump, it’s this one. Player to watch: Rowan is the player most likely to benefit from the two other things the Orange zone has to worry about: Barber and controlling Abu and Anya on the offensive glass. He’s shooting an average 33.2 percent from 3 this season, but has scored 20 points in two of N.C. State’s last four games. He also scored three and eight points, respectively, in the other two contests, and has proven time and again this season that he is prone to get very cold. The opportunities will be there against SU, and how many he cashes in on will have a big influence on the game. jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse

february 26–27, 2016 9

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Tournament expert discusses Syracuse’s March hopes By Sam Blum senior staff writer

With Syracuse teetering on the bubble heading into its matchup with North Carolina State in the Carrier Dome on Saturday, The Daily Orange spoke with NCAA Tournament guru Patrick Stevens. Stevens’ projections appear in The Washington Post and in 2014 he was the only bracketologist, out of 121, to correctly pick all 68 teams in the field, per Syracuse.com. Here’s what he had to say about SU’s chances at an NCAA Tournament bid.

WHAT IS RPI? The Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. RPI only includes games against Division I teams.

The Daily Orange: Where do you have

Syracuse right now, and where would it be if the season were to end today? Patrick Stevens: I have Syracuse as a nine seed in the West, playing Florida in St. Louis with Xavier as a possible matchup as a one seed. If you look at their profile, and believe me, there’s a spot on the bracket and it’s probably around the seven line, where the bottom falls out. Suddenly you’re looking at teams that really aren’t quite as good and then it gets even worse from there. So there are teams that are like Syracuse that have flaws, without question, such as the loss to St. John’s. That’s the one thing that stands out as much as anything else. But beyond that, there’s not a whole lot that you’re look-

With the sesason winding down, SU is jostling for a spot in the NCAA tournament. Bracketologist Patrick Stevens already has SU in his field of 68. Syraucse is 18-10 and faces N.C. State on Saturday at 2 p.m. logan reidsma senior staff photographer

ing at that’s really dreadful. They’re .500 away from home, they’re 7-8 against the Top 100, 5-7 against the Top 50. Neither of which is great, but neither of which is dreadful. I think Syracuse is in preservation mode as much as anything else…I think they simply have to handle the business they should handle, which very simple for them might

mean beat North Carolina State and beat whatever team the wind up playing in the 7-10 or 8-9 type of situation in the ACC tournament, barring complete chaos anywhere else. Right now on the at-large board, which takes out all of the current conference leaders, I have Syracuse 28th. I have them with a four-team buffer with them and the play-in games at the moment, let alone the edge of the field. So you look at them, and they’re not in terrible shape whatsoever at this stage. D.O.: The NCAA Tournament committee said it would look at the nine-game suspension for Jim Boeheim when determining SU’s spot in the field. Do you do the same with your bracket projections? P.S.: I haven’t given it much thought. You look at the games that they lost and you say, ‘How much of a difference would have that have necessarily made?’ They lost handily at Miami. They lost by double-digits at Pittsburgh. They were down a bunch at Georgetown without him. Even the St. John’s game, as bad as that was, doubledigit loss. The question I ask is how much of a difference would he have made? And I don’t know the answer to that. And frankly I don’t think anyone knows the answer to that. The Clemson game is the one game where you look at it and you think, ‘Maybe that would have made a difference.’ But I think that’s a really hard thing to quantify. At least with a player it’s ‘OK, you’re taking out 16 points a game. You’re taking out this, you’re taking out that. D.O.: How much does it help Syracuse’s seeding when a team like Duke or St. Bonaventure really elevate their play after the Orange already beat them this season? P.S.: This is an every year deal for every team. You beat a team you think is good in the season and it turns out they’re not worth a whole lot. You beat a team that’s bad early in the season and it turns out that they’re pretty decent. Both of those teams, the Duke game in particular, is helping Syracuse a great deal right now. And at the end of the day, that would not shock me if that is the best thing that’s left on their profile come Selection Sunday. It’s certainly better for them to have Bonaventure in the Top 50 than not. It’s certainly better for them to have Duke playing well now, than not. Is that

5-7

Syracuse has gone 5-7 against Top 50 RPI teams this season

QUALITY WINS SU’s beaten five teams in the top 50 of the RPI rankings (sorted by rank).

12 duke 22 texas a&m 26 notre dame 34 st. bonaventure 39 connecticut helping Syracuse’s profile? Yes. D.O.: Speaking hypothetically, if Syracuse were to lose out, what could things look like for the Orange? P.S.: That’s going to depend on what a lot of other people do. It’s a 351-team situation with a lot of variables out there. But I would not suggest Syracuse lose their next three games… The variables are reduced to this point that say this: If Syracuse beats N.C. State, loses the two road games, splits in the ACC tournament, I think it’s going to take a lot of absolute wackiness elsewhere to cost them an NCAA Tournament berth. D.O.: Does it help Syracuse that a team like Louisville is off the board? P.S.: There are two extra spots in the field this year with Louisville and Southern Methodist not in. Syracuse is two spots closer to the edge of the field if those two teams are eligible, then yeah, there’s a little bit less margin for error. This year, when they talk about taking the top 36 at-large teams, what they’re really talking about is taking the top 37 or 38 because those two teams aren’t going to be in the field. sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3

10 february 26–27, 2016

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Syracuse

2015-16 Men's Basketball Roster

Destiny USA

No.

FULL NAME

POS.

HT.

WT.

YR.

Michael Gbinije

6-7

200

R-Sr.

Frank Howard

6-4

190

Fr.

Shaun Belbey

5-10

165

Fr.

Mike Sutton

6-2

194

So.

Trevor Cooney

6-4

195

R-Sr.

Adrian Autry

6-0

182

Fr.

Paschal Chukwu

7-2

226

So.

Kaleb Joseph

6-3

180

So.

Tyler Lydon

6-8

210

Fr.

Tyler Roberson

6-8

226

Jr.

Malachi Richardson

6-6

205

Fr.

Evan Dourdas

6-0

160

Fr.

Dajuan Coleman

6-9

268

Sr.

Jonathan Radner

5-10

168

Fr.

Doyin Akintobi-Adeyeye

6-6

230

Jr.

Chinonso Obokoh

6-9

215

Jr.

Ky Feldman

5-10

150

Fr.

Christian White

5-10

185

Sr.

february 26–27, 2016 11

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N.C. State

2015-16 Men's Basketball Roster No.

FULL NAME

POS. HT.

WT. YR.

Abdul-Malik Abu

6-8

240 So.

Lennard Freeman

6-9

250 Jr.

Torin Dorn

6-6

205 So.

Terry Henderson

6-5

195 R-Jr.

Chris Brickhouse

6-5

205 Jr.

Anthony 'Cat' Barber

6-2

190 Jr.

Chris Corchiani, Jr.

6-0

180 So.

Caleb Martin

G/F

6-7

215 So.

Cody Martin

G/F

6-7

210 So.

BeeJay Anya

6-9

285 Jr.

Shaun Kirk

G/F

6-8

195 Fr.

Maverick Rowan

G/F

6-7

215 Fr.

Chase Cannon

6-5

200 Sr.

12 february 26–27, 2016

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PREGAME PLAYBOOK by the numbers

11.8

key players

point guard

shooting guard

small forward

In N.C. State’s four conference wins, the Wolfpack has outrebounded opponents by an average of 11.8 boards per game.

In Syracuse’s seven conference losses, the Orange has been outrebounded by opponents by an average of seven boards per game.

27.1

MICHAEL GBINIJE

ANTHONY ‘CAT’ BARBER

TREVOR COONEY

MAVERICK ROWAN

MALACHI RICHARDSON

CODY MARTIN

HT: 6’7” WGHT: 200 YEAR: RS SENIOR

HT: 6’2” WGHT: 190 YEAR: JUNIOR

HT: 6’4” WGHT: 195 YEAR: RS SENIOR

HT: 6’7” WGHT: 215 YEAR: FRESHMAN

HT: 6’6” WGHT: 205 YEAR: FRESHMAN

HT: 6’7” WGHT: 210 YEAR: SOPHOMORE

These are two of the best scorers in the ACC, with Barber leading the conference with 23.1 points per game and Gbinije tied for fifth with 17.

Cooney and Rowan are the respective shooters for these two teams, and each is capable of going very hot or very cold.

Martin has the ability to stretch the floor and benefit from the attention Syracuse will pay to Barber, while Richardson is more likely to create shots on his own.

power forward

center

head coaches

In Saturday home games during the month of February, Trevor Cooney is shooting 27.1 percent.

beat writer predictions Syracuse (18-10, 8-7) faces what is likely a must-win game against North Carolina State (14-14, 4-11) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. The Orange will contend with the ACC’s leading scorer, Anthony “Cat” Barber, in the matchup. Here’s how our beat writers predict the game will unfold. SAM BLUM (19-9)

TYLER ROBERSON

ABDUL-MALIK ABU

DAJUAN COLEMAN

BEEJAY ANYA

JIM BOEHEIM

MARK GOTTFRIED

HT: 6’8” WGHT: 226 YEAR: JUNIOR

HT: 6’8” WGHT: 240 YEAR: SOPHOMORE

HT: 6’9” WGHT: 268 YEAR: SENIOR

HT: 6’9” WGHT: 285 YEAR: JUNIOR

W-L: 882-333 40TH SEASON

W-L: 384-221 19TH SEASON

These are two of the best offensive rebounders in the ACC, and both Roberson and Abu could control the glass with limited athleticism on the court.

stacking up

n.c. state 75, syracuse 70

BARBER SHOP Syracuse isn’t playing good basketball going into its first must-win game of the season. With the Orange going up against one of the best in the conference in Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber, Syracuse gets shocked on its own court. And because of that, Saturday might not be the season’s last Carrier Dome game. Home-court advantage in the NIT is hardly a silver lining.

Boeheim has the advantage when it comes to experience, but Gottfried put together a nice game plan last season to stretch out and beat the SU zone over the top.

stats to know

syracuse shooting percentage

NC STATE

SYRACUSE

REBOUNDING MARGIN PER GAME

37.7%

46.9%

shots made

-0.7

shots made

FIVE-GAME WIN STREAK BEFORE THE LOSSES

LAST TWO LOSSES

4.7 ASSISTS PER GAME

JESSE DOUGHERTY (19-9)

CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE?

32% of

23% of

points scored

11.5 N.C. STATE’S ANTHONY “CAT” BARBER

STEALS PER GAME

points scored

SYRACUSE’S MICHAEL GBINIJE

8.1

N.C. State’s Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber has scored 32 percent of his team’s points. Michael Gbinije has scored 23 percent of SU’s points.

game trend

4.4

15 14

POINTS PER GAME

In its last two games, both losses, SU has grabbed fewer than 10 rebounds. The Orange had double-digit boards in the prior five games, all wins.

syracuse 71, n.c. state 62

69.9

CAT IN THE BAG

75.1

3-POINT FIELD GOALS PER GAME

O FFE NSIV E RE BO U N DS

MATT SCHNEIDMAN (20-8)

Let’s face it, a loss here and Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament hopes aren’t so certain anymore. A team that’s been dominated on the glass lately needs to reverse that against a Wolfpack team with Beejay Anya and Abdul Malik-Abu down low. But even if the Orange does get outrebounded, Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije do enough to outplay N.C. State star Cat Barber in the backcourt and hold off an upset on a ceremonious Senior Day for SU’s guards.

Syracuse made 37.7 percent of its shots in its last two games, both losses. In the five games before that, all wins, SU hit 46.9 percent.

points scored in conference games

13.9

syracuse 76, n.c. state 71

N.C. State can really only win in shootouts, and it doesn’t quite get to that point in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. Barber gets his, like he tends to do, but the Wolfpack’s other threats can’t get going against an extended Syracuse zone. The Orange gets exposed on the offensive glass because of aggressive play on the wings, but second-chance points from the N.C. State frontcourt aren’t the sidekick Barber needs to hand SU a crippling loss.

Both Coleman and Anya depend on size to create space inside, and Anya should have the physical advantage over Coleman and Tyler Lydon, who always sees a lot of minutes at center.

10 8

8.8 6.0

vs. ND (W)

vs. GT (W)

vs. VT (W)

vs. FSU (W)

GAME

@BC (W)

@UofL (L)

vs. PITT (L)