Syracuse makes 3-point shots, rebounds and grabs victory at NC State (Donna Ditota’s quick hits)

In keeping with the 2020-21 tradition, surprising news was delivered before the ball was announced Tuesday night in Raleigh.

Minutes before the game, Syracuse tweeted from his men’s basketball account that Kadary Richmond (illness, unrelated to Covid) and Bourama Sidibe (knee pain) were questionable to play against NC State. The last time Syracuse met NC State – on January 31 – we found out that DJ Funderburk would not be available for Wolfpack.

But then, voila! Richmond entered the game before the 12th minute of the first half and things were immediately interesting. SU led 34-33 in half. Final score: Syracuse 77, NC State 68.

Orange won a much-needed road victory at Raleigh.

Here’s what happened:

Richmond is what happened. Sick or not, he was the difference (along with Alan Griffin) in the first half. He had three steals in the first half and it was all sorts of disruption for NC State, which turned the ball at an alarming rate at that time.

At one point, he made two consecutive steals that led to empty buckets. In one, a state player essentially passed the ball to him. Richmond has a huge nose, a knack for basketball. He has great expectations in the area. And he can sneak a ball when an attacking player least expects it.

His thefts animated Syracuse in the first half. He finished with six points in the first 20 minutes. Final line: 8 points, 3 assists, 4 steals, 4 turnovers. Some of these twists and turns happened when he tried to do a home run instead of settling for one.

It helped SU that the NC state could not, for life, own basketball. Wolfpack turned it 13 times in the first half. It was the only thing, really, slowing them down on their offensive side. NC State shot 55 percent in the first half, but because of all these changes, State fired nine fewer shots in the first half than SU.

Orange scored 11 points in those turns. It seemed that some opportunities were missed in these situations. But the 13 turns in the first half were not good for Wolfpack. NC State, for the game, committed 20 turnovers. SU scored 21 points for these errors.

Syracuse made 3-point shots on Tuesday. This, really, was a great development for a team that has been struggling to hit the perimeter kicks. SU’s ability to make 3s in this game made a big difference.

At one point in the second half, Orange was 7-to-16 from the 3-point line and led Wolfpack 55-46.

Alan Griffin and Buddy Boeheim were the main 3-point architects, but Rob Braswell replaced Quincy Guerrier in the middle of the second half and immediately drained a 3 wing from the bench. (I have a certain admiration for players who manage to get off the bench while sitting for an entire game and shoot promptly.)

During the night, Orange sank 9 of 19 from the 3-point line. Griffin was 4 to 7, Boeheim was 3 to 5.

Alan Griffin fired in the first half. He did 3s deep. He made medium range shots. He took a loose ball and put it inside. He finished in the corridor.

Syracuse needed punctuation. No other Orange man, except Richmond, of his own ability to steal, brought much to the offensive table that first time. Griffin contributed 14 points in the first half on 6 of 9 shots. Syracuse needed every bucket.

Griffin finished with 22 points out of 9 out of 17 shots.

State, sometimes Tuesday, used a Twin Tower approach by Manny Bates and DJ Funderburk against an Orange team that was already outnumbered in the center / forward size category. Both are north of 6-10 and weigh 225-230.

When State went to the big team, Jericole Hellems, so vital to attack the zone from the middle of the post, left and State was not so fluid on the offensive side. Both Bates and Funderburk, however, had moments of pure happiness immersed in Orange. As a pair of doubles, they scored 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The two big guys, however, also put the state at a disadvantage in defense, when these big bodies had to keep the Syracuse guys off the edge. And despite having two giants at the same time on several occasions, State did not capitalize on rebounds.

This and that: I suppose Joe Girard wants that “conversation” back with an official after he missed a shot in the first half. It happened during a live ball situation and State was fouled and converted to the other end. … Sidibe did not actually play against NC State. … Syracuse won the recovery battle (32-28) Tuesday, which has been a successful barometer for Orange this season. … Orange also won the points in the paint category, 28-20. SU explored several size advantages to score on the track against Wolfpack. Buddy Boeheim for excerpts, retreated into the much smaller Braxton Beverly in the painted area. Boeheim had a good night in the attack for SU – he scored three points in the first half, but emerged after the break. He finished with 16 points and made 6 out of 12 overall and 3 out of 5 out of 3. … Quincy Guerrier, in the middle of a problem, ended up with 14 points and seven rebounds. … NC State soared 38 percent in the second half.

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