RALEIGH — Scott Wood hit six 3-pointers against Syracuse's zone last year and he was clearly a point of emphasis on the scouting report this year.
Wood attempted only one shot in the first half, a 2-pointer, and didn't make a 3, until the first possession of the second half. Wood finished with eight points and two 3-pointers.
"We knew Wood had hurt us last year," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We cheated towards him."
RALEIGH – No. 1 Syracuse downed N.C. State 88-72 on Saturday at the RBC Center, making tough shots from 3-point range to hold off the Wolfpack.
The Orange (11-0) shot 44 percent from the arc, including an 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) effort in the first half that helped it rally and carry a 47-33 lead into halftime. The Orange made just 3 of 10 3-point attempts in the second half, but shot 56.5 percent from the field overall.
"They haven't shot the ball well this season, but they really shot it well today," said State senior C.J. Williams, who scored 25 points and went 3-for-5 from the arc. "That really hurt us."
RALEIGH — Syracuse kept coming in waves at N.C. State on Saturday in a big-game atmosphere at the RBC Center.
The Wolfpack could handle one run but not a knockout in the second half against the country's top-ranked team. Dion Waiters' 22 points led the Orange to a 88-72 win over the Wolfpack in front of a sellout crowd near Christmas in a game that felt more like March.
The Orange used a 23-0 blitz in the first half to build a 47-33 halftime lead. The Wolfpack, led by a career-high 25 points by C.J. Williams, clawed back in the game with a 17-3 run of its own to start the second half.
RALEIGH – With No. 1 Syracuse coming to the RBC Center on Saturday, N.C. State point guards Lorenzo Brown and Alex Johnson discussed this week what an upset might look like if the Wolfpack were to pull off an improbable victory.
After watching Indiana knock off then-No. 1 Kentucky last week, the two guards talked about what it would feel like if the Wolfpack (6-3) were to take down Syracuse (10-0) and overcome its vaunted zone defense. They talked about the sold-out crowd storming the floor and creating an unforgettable moment neither has experienced in their careers.
"Me and Zo were talking about it," Johnson said. "If we do win, to have this crowd just storm the court. That would be quite an experience. You see it on TV and you kind of want to experience it."
YouTube footage of Indiana's fans storming the court after their team defeated then-No. 1 Kentucky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nsD8zpPXDQ
Remember years ago how some ACC traditionalists harrumphed when Roy Williams compared the ACC tournament to a meaningless cocktail party?
How do you think the league is going to take the comments of ACC transplant coach Jim Boeheim, who is decidedly not excited to swap Syracuse's annual trips to New York's Madison Square Garden for March treks to Greensboro for the ACC tournament?
Updated 9:35 p.m.
Big East schools Syracuse and Pittsburgh have signaled their intentions to join the ACC as the conference’s 13th and 14th members.
A high-ranking ACC source said Saturday on condition of anonymity that both universities have sent letters of application to the ACC. The schools’ additions would have to be approved by nine of the 12 ACC presidents, and signs Saturday pointed toward both schools joining the conference.
N.C. State chancellor Randy Woodson said the ACC will hold a news conference Sunday or Monday. Woodson said the 12 ACC presidents are unified on expansion, but he wouldn’t say whether they have voted on Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Well, it wasn't by 39 points.
N.C. State lost a road game to a big-name opponent for the second time this week but Saturday's 65-59 loss at No. 8 Syracuse was nothing like the Wolfpack's trip to Wisconsin.
Greg Paulus is going home to play college football.
The former Duke point guard will attempt to play quarterback for Syracuse University this fall, he announced on Thursday.
But the Orange, which hasn't had a winning season since 2001, has a designated starting quarterback and a senior backup who started 11 games in 2008.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It took a while, but the Big East express finally hit an NCAA speed bump Friday with the elimination of Syracuse by Oklahoma in the South Regional.
There could still be three Big East reps (one from the East for sure) at the Final Four, but the Big 12 has a couple of teams standing in the Sooners and Missouri. Both are underdogs, however.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The most surprised person in the FedExForum on Friday night must have been Jim Boeheim.
In his team’s 84-71 NCAA South third-round loss to Oklahoma, the Syracuse coach expected all sorts of trouble from the Sooners’ Blake Griffin, Willie Warren and Austin Johnson.
