Syracuse and NC State are playing in the ACC Conference Tournament on Friday in Greensboro and the matchup for the Orange comes in the quarterfinals and the matchup will be on ESPN and WatchESPN at 7 pm ET and is streaming online and Cuse comes in against North Carolina State as the number 11 team in the nation and they will try to move to the semis next.
Syracuse was undefeated through most of the season and they won 25 games without losing and now they are trying to put the bad taste out of their mouths after faltering to end the season and they get their chance against NC State. Syracuse has been one of the best defensive teams in the nation and while they have some nice wins against Villanova, Duke, North Carolina and Pitt this season, they need the year with four losses in five games before winning against Florida State and now they will try and bolster their résumé after appearing like a lock for a number one seed in the NCAA tournament.
Jim Boeheim has his team ready for a nice run and they lost games against Duke, Boston College, Virginia and Georgia Tech towards the end and now they will be able to get back on the floor with some of the best competition in the nation. The BC loss ended the undefeated season for Syracuse, while the Virginia loss officially clinched the ACC regular season title for the Cavaliers and now the Orange are hoping to win the tournament title. The team is used to playing the Big East tournament, but this should be just as competitive and they have the chance to matchup with teams like Duke, UNC and UVA
The team is scoring just 68 points per game this season, but they have made up for it with some great defense, as they are ranked 10th in the country in points allowed with just 59 per game and that will be what they ride into the tournament. CJ Fair and Tyler Ennis have been very good for the team and the Orange come into the game averaging over eight steals per game and that ranks 17th in the nation, while they are also putting up nearly five blocks per game and that is good for the top 50 in the country.
Ennis put up a miracle shot earlier in the season to keep the team undefeated and he is leading in assists, while CJ Fair is tops on the team in scoring with nearly 17 points per game and he has been grabbing over six rebounds instead. The team will try to attack with fair and he is shooting over 44 percent from the floor this season. Syracuse was number one in the nation at one point and now they have the chance to catch up with other teams for the NCAA tournament seeds after looking like they would be a top one and a win here could be huge. NC State won over Miami and now they will be the next challenge for the Orange, as they went 9-9 this season and they previously lost to Cuse in ACC play.