Syracuse men’s basketball: three takeaways from win over NC State

Wire to wire? In this economy?

The Syracuse Orange (12-16, 6-11) didn’t show a lot of rust from their time off as they took control over NC State early on the way to a comfortable 74-60 win. Let’s get to the takeaways…

Control the Paint

Syracuse used some bully ball in this one as they enjoyed a 46-22 edge in points in the paint. Instead of settling for jump shots in the second half, the Orange kept going inside where they were able to convert 13-18 shots and keep NC State from getting closer than 8 points. Jyare Davis (15 points) and Eddie Lampkin (14) both shot 5-7 from the field and imposed their will on the Wolfpack inside.

Rebound and Run

The Orange have been a better rebounding team this season, but they’ve done a poor job of getting easy baskets in transition. Last night was a different story as they turned 33 defensive rebounds and 6 steals into an 11-0 advantage in fast break points. When you’ve got a team that struggles on the offensive end, getting easy looks before the defense can get set is key.

Starling stops second half struggles

Even with the win, the Orange had their usual issues in the second half with turnovers (7), poor perimeter defense (NC State shot 6-14 from 3) and missed free throws (9-17 after the break). It looked like we might see another collapse, but after a slow start JJ Starling took over late.

Starling scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the final 7:30 of the game. His only three of the game put the Orange up 62-49 and took the wind of the Wolfpack’s comeback attempt.

Starling ended the night shooting 6-12 from the field while grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists and breaking out the CJ Fair headband. He turned a quiet night around with his ability to once again serve as the Orange closer.

We’ll see if Syracuse can use the win to finish the regular season on a strong note as they head on the road to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies this Saturday.