The title of this article is pretty straightforward. While a Tuesday night home game against unranked NC State may not seem that important for Syracuse fans, I’d argue it is the biggest game of the season thus far. Yes, I know the Duke game happened and Florida State and Louisville loom in the following week. But for exactly those reasons, this game is huge for the Orange.
For one, Syracuse currently sits tied in fourth place in the ACC with Virginia with a 7-5 record. The top four teams in the ACC get a double-bye in the tournament. At this point, Syracuse is on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. Winning the ACC may seem farfetched, but with the weakness of the conference this season, anything seems possible with an automatic bid on the line.
Staying with the conference theme, NC State is 6-6 in ACC play, just one game behind the Orange. The Wolfpack did not play a great nonconference schedule, but they do have a win over Wisconsin which is more than the Orange can say. A win on Tuesday would see the Wolfpack jump over Syracuse in the ACC standings. Furthermore, this is the only time the two teams meet, so the winner would control the tiebreaker.
The Orange already has one iffy loss in conference against Clemson. NC State is a better team than the Tigers, but it’s still a game you want as a win when Selection Sunday rolls around. The win wouldn’t be half as big as a road win over FSU or Louisville, but it keeps Syracuse rolling in the right direction.
I’ve mentioned how close these two teams are. As you can see here, NC State (15-8, 6-6) and Syracuse (14-9, 7-5) are nearly identical on paper.
There’s also something to be said about momentum. Syracuse was rolling, winners of five straight, before falling back-to-back against Clemson and Duke. After escaping with a win over Wake Forest, the Orange needs to keep the train moving in the right direction with their two biggest games of the season coming right after.
Syracuse has been playing good basketball lately on both sides of the ball. Buddy Boeheim has become a legit scoring threat from anywhere and we all know was Elijah Hughes can do. Even the inside presence of Quincey Guerrier, Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe is starting to come together. Syracuse still lacks some depth, but it has found a good formula with the pieces it has.
Tuesday night may not count as a must-win, but it sure as hell is a can’t-lose.