| Four Factors | NCSU |
Cuse |
| eFG% | 64.4 | 65.3 |
| Turnover Rate | 29.0 |
12.2 |
| Off Reb Rate | 37.5 | 36.7 |
| FT Rate | 15.4 | 21.0 |
| Pts | Poss | OFF_EFF | DEF_EFF | |
| Syr |
88 | 65.5 | 134.4 | 109.9 |
| NCSU | 72 | 65.5 | 109.9 | 134.4 |
NC State shot the ball well and rebounded well offensively, but again there was a double-digit negative turnover margin to overcome, and to no one's surprise, the team wasn't able to do it. This time around, Syracuse didn't let things stay interesting with a poor shooting effort. The Pack defense, particularly along the perimeter, was a problem all night, and even as State was rallying in the first five minutes of the second half, the Orange continued to get wide open shots at the basket. They just missed them for a little while. With no defensive intensity, that sort of luck most likely isn't going to carry on for long, and it sure as hell didn't on Saturday.
Give the kids credit for rallying, though. Syracuse is really, really good, and far deeper than NC State. And the Wolfpack should be pleased with the way they shot the basketball against that zone; it was easily Syracuse's least efficient defensive performance of the year. So there is that. With a turnover margin closer to even, we may have had ourselves a shootout. As it is, it's hard to think about anything other than the dreadful defensive effort tonight.