Buddy Boeheim Catches Fire; Orange Squeeze NC State Again
Buddy Boeheim led Syracuse with 27 points, including 18 from 3-point range, as the Orange again prevailed over NC State, 89-68, on Wednesday in second round action of the ACC Tournament.
Syracuse had already won their two previous meetings this season, and Boeheim used the 3-ball to help 'Cuse make it three straight wins over the Wolfpack. Boeheim shot 8-of-11 from the field in the first-half, scoring 20 of the team's 38 points. After struggling to find his stroke at times this season, the 6-6 Junior made six of his first ten attempts from beyond the arc, before missing a pair back-to-back in the late stages.
Joe Girard III finished with 14 points, while Quincy Guerrier and Alan Griffin had a dozen each. Griffin also contributed eight rebounds and five assists.
Trailing by eleven with 2:48 go in the opening half, the Wolfpack were able to claw back into the game to make it 43-38 at the break. However, the Orange quickly extended their lead to twelve early in the second-half, helped by consecutive 3-pointers from Griffin and Guerrier. The lead only grew from there.
The win gets Syracuse to 16-8 on the season and 10-7 in the ACC. Three of those wins have come against NC State, who came into the game with a higher seed than Syracuse because of conference record (Syr is the nine-seed, NC State an eight).
Boeheim and company hope to bring another sharp-shooting performance to the court on Thursday. They'll face the conference's top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (17-6), who rank 16th in the latest AP Top 25. Game is set for noon, televised on ESPN 2.
The Cavaliers drilled Syracuse 81-58 in late January.
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