Five Takeaways: Syracuse 75 NC State 72

Syracuse beat #23 NC State 75-72 inside the JMA Wireless Dome Tuesday night. Here are five takeaways from the win.

1. Fast Break

A key to Syracuse's success offensively was the ability to get out in transition. This includes both off of turnovers and a rebound. The Orange got several easy buckets this way, which was important as it struggled against NC State's half court defense for much of the game. Syracuse had a 21-13 edge in fast break points in this one, though it felt like they scored more than that. Either way, it was an important part of the victory, especially in the first half. Syracuse's ability to come back from a 19-10 deficit was thanks in large part to its ability to get out and run.

2. Judah Mintz

Mintz had maybe his best game in Orange considering performance, opponent and circumstances. He scored 20 points on an extremely efficient 7-12 shooting, dished out nine assists and had only one turnover. He was under control, attacked at the right moments and slowed down when needed. In the first half, he looked for his teammates and dished out six assists. In the second, he looked to score and had 16 of his 20 points. Mintz showed he can control the game in either aspect and was masterful against a good NC State team. If he plays like that, the Orange is not who opposing teams want to see in the postseason.

3. Jesse Edwards

Jesse Edwards struggled to finish in this game as he missed several shots right around the rim. That said, Syracuse does not win without him. He was key in getting NC State's starting center DJ Burns into foul trouble and eventually fouling out. He also dominated the boards with 16 of them. Edwards was also superb defensively with two blocks and two steals. He finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds, though he did shoot 5-14. Edwards even made his first career three point attempt when forced to let one fly at the end of a shot clock. What a moment.

4. Defense

NC State came in shooting 24 three pointers per game. Against Syracuse, they launched 34 but made only nine for a shooting percentage of 26.5% from beyond the arc. The zone did a great job pushing the NC State shooters out and forcing them to take long, contested shots for the most part. The favorite for ACC Player of the Year, Terquavion Smith, was just 5-16 shooting including 4-12 from three. Casey Morsell, who led NC State shooting 45% from three coming in, was just 1-9 from deep. Now Syracuse gave up too many offensive rebounds (16 that led to 16 second chance points), but it was a strong effort overall. The Orange also forced 12 turnovers as they got their hands on a lot of passes. NC State looked very uncomfortable in the half court all night.

5. Signature Win, So Far

This was a big win for a lot of reasons. Syracuse needed to win one of these close games against good teams. It needed to beat a really good team to feel good about itself, gain confidence and keep its outside hopes of an NCAA Tournament bid alive. It accomplished all of that. It does, however, make one play the "what if" game with the four close losses to Pittsburgh, Miami, North Carolina and Virginia. Grabbing two of those would put Syracuse in a very good position right now and have the Orange in the mix to win the ACC regular season crown. Alas, that did not happen and Syracuse is where it is. This is a signature win for now, but could be replaced by others given what is on the schedule. A win over Duke on Saturday would be better by NET rankings than NC State and the brand is obviously more impactful. Road games are Clemson and at Pittsburgh also provide great opportunities. We will see how it plays out, but this was a big win for SU.

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