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For the first time in almost two years, Syracuse defeated a ranked opponent. Before Tuesday night’s 75-72 win over No. 23 NC State, the Orange had last beaten a ranked opponent on Jan. 23, 2021, when it upset No. 16 Virginia Tech 78-60.

The Orange led at halftime, fighting off Terquavion Smith and multiple comeback attempts from the Wolfpack. Judah Mintz led the Orange with 20 points and nine assists, while Jesse Edwards was close behind with 18 points and 16 rebounds.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s 75-72 win over NC State:

Final push

A Valentine’s Day miracle occurred with nine minutes left in the game. As the shot clock expired, Chris Bell handed the ball off to Edwards, who was immediately unaware about the time left on the clock. Bell yelled at Edwards to shoot, along with the rest of the JMA Wireless Dome, and he let go of the ball from the left wing. He drained it, throwing his hands up in disbelief as his first career 3-pointer beat the shot clock.

The Wolfpack wouldn’t back down as Edwards was called for his second personal foul a minute later. Casey Morsell hit both shots at the charity stripe, cutting SU’s lead to 59-56. Still, the Orange maintained their lead, answering back from a putback by Jack Clark with one of their own from Maliq Brown.

NC State hit back-to-back baskets though, knotting the game at 63 apiece. Clark took the ball away from Edwards to set up the latter score, which came in transition by Smith from beyond the arc.

Both teams traded basket after basket, and the game was tied again at 70-70 with two minutes left. Edwards got the ball on the left block against Ebenezer Dowuona, backing him down until he was right in front of the basket. Edwards held onto the ball as Dowuona attempted to wrestle it away. Edwards won the fight down low before dunking it. Drawing contact on the finish, he converted the 3-point play at the line.

The last few plays were chaotic. With a one-point lead, Joe Girard III couldn’t hit the rim before the shot clock expired, giving NC State the ball back with a minute left. DJ Burns Jr. took control of possession and drove, but Edwards fell to the floor as Burns lowered his shoulder, successfully getting the charge call.

Jarkel Joiner missed after a screen was set up for him and Smith could only hit the backboard on a final half-court heave as SU secured the win.

Judah’s service

Mintz entered the game after winning his fourth Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the week award following a clutch performance against the Seminoles. He led the Orange with 14 second-half points but also finished with six assists. Against the Wolfpack, he met that assist mark in roughly 17 minutes.

Mintz helped SU get on the board first, locating Bell wide open at the right baseline, allowing him to easily walk into an open jumper. He found SU’s forwards close to the basket as well, giving the ball to Benny Williams on the right side for an easy finish before setting up a dunk for Brown with a bounce pass.

Less than 30 seconds later, Mintz set up another slam in transition. Girard came up and poked a pass ahead to Mintz, who had an easy lane to finish on his own. But, looking up, Mintz saw Bell charging in from the back of the Orange’s zone and opted to set him up instead. Bell caught the ball and took two steps before slamming it.

Love-hate relationship with rebounding

The Orange have improved on their defensive rebounding in recent games, getting much more help from forwards like Benny Williams and Chris Bell, which was practically nonexistent for the first part of the season. But the Wolfpack, like the Seminoles last week, still made the most of second-chance opportunities.

Sometimes, the ball took an awkward bounce of the rim and made it impossible for an SU player to grab it. Mostly, Syracuse’s forwards were out of position, leaving Edwards alone under the basket to deal with every rebound. After Smith missed from the top of the key five minutes into the game, the ball took a few bounces on the floor before Burns snatched it. He spun and immediately laid the ball in.

Joiner missed on a pull-up jumper a minute later, but the ball bounced right back to him. He took a few steps back and drained a 3 from the right wing.

At the start of the second half, the Wolfpack couldn’t even hit the rim but still got the ball back and finished off a possession. Smith and Joiner both airballed, but the Wolfpack reached the ball first twice. Clark sat right under the basket, collecting Smith’s miss and putting it back in after a quick hop off the ground.

Tumultuous Terquavion

Smith has had a huge sophomore season so far for the Wolfpack with nine 20-plus point games. He leads the conference in field goals made this year and scored 25 points against the Orange last season.

The Orange got after Smith early, surrounding him with Girard and Mintz at the top of the 2-3 zone. Smith got past the duo three minutes into the game, crossing up Girard to get to midrange. But Edwards came up and blocked his shot.

Smith wouldn’t score until nine minutes were left in the first half, when he hammered the ball into the basket following a third failed NC State lob attempt. That was his only basket of the first half.

While Smith struggled to get open, his backcourt running mate, Joiner, made most of his open looks. Joiner scored from the right wing twice in the first half after being left wide open. He lofted the ball over Edwards once too, leading all Wolfpack guards with 15 points.

But Smith wouldn’t stay quiet throughout the rest of the night. After the Orange took a 50-43 lead seven minutes into the second half, Smith nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a one-point affair. The second somehow banked off the glass despite Smith heaving it from the left corner.

Smith scored twice more from deep, including two late in the game which kept NC State in it. But for the most part, Syracuse lived up to the defensive challenge.

Published on February 14, 2023 at 9:39 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu