Washington D.C. ― The Syracuse Orange will face the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the second round of the ACC tournament on Wednesday.
NC State, which is the No. 10 seed in the ACC tournament, advanced to the second round with a 94-85 win over Louisville at the Capital One Arena on Tuesday. Syracuse; the No. 7 seed, had a first-round bye.
Wednesday’s game will mark the third meeting of the season between Syracuse and NC State. Syracuse swept the season series, beating the Wolfpack 77-65 on Jan. 27 at the JMA Wireless Dome and then taking the road game in Raleigh 87-83 on Feb. 20.
North Carolina State played without its star guard DJ Horne, who had suffered a lower body injury in the Wolfpack’s final regular season at Pittsburgh on Saturday. Horne’s status for Wednesday’s game is unknown. He ranked second in the ACC in scoring this season, averaging 19.4 points per game in conference play.
The Wolfpack forced Louisville into 16 turnovers. NC State also owned a huge advantage at the free throw line, making 31 out of 38 shots, while Louisville was just 8-for-8.
The turnovers and free throws helped NC State overcome both Horne’s absence and a 36-point performance from Louisville guard Skyy Clark.
Casey Morsell scored 25 points for NC State, while Jayden Taylor added 18. NC State center Ben Middlebrooks and DJ Burns combined for 23 points.
North Carolina State had to fight back from an early deficit. Louisville jumped out to a quick 26-15 lead as Clark scored 15 points.
The Wolfpack narrowed the margin to one point by halftime. Louisville’s lead stood at 46-45 at the break. Both teams’ offenses were enjoying the day. Louisville made 69% of its field goal attempts in the half, while NC State had shot 57% from the floor.
Louisville cooled off in the second half, making just 46% of its shots.
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