Postseason Hopes on the Line When Syracuse Visits NC State

Head Coach Kevin Keatts and DJ Burns and DJ Horne post game press conference after win at Clemson

Head Coach Kevin Keatts, DJ Burns and DJ Horne | Postgame press conference after win at Clemson | Image: Pack Pride - NC State Wolfpack Athletics/YouTube

A crucial Atlantic Coast Conference matchup unfolds as North Carolina State welcomes Syracuse to Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday night, with significant implications for their postseason prospects.

NC State (16-9, 8-6 ACC) narrowly defeated Clemson 78-77 on Saturday, keeping their dreams of making it to the NCAA Tournament alive. DJ Horne of NC State sealed the victory with a one-handed floater in the paint with 9.8 seconds remaining.

Syracuse (16-10, 7-8) is reeling from a 65-60 loss on the road to Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where they struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 4 of 25 attempts.

Following their triumph over Clemson, which marked their first Quadrant 1 win this season, NC State climbed to No. 76 in the NET rankings, a key indicator for NCAA Tournament selection.

“We’re sticking to one game at a time,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said. “I know a lot of people look at it as a sprint. For us, it’s a marathon and this team doesn’t need anybody to believe in them but the guys in the locker room.”

Horne, a shooting guard who moved from Arizona State to his hometown of Raleigh to play for the Wolfpack as a graduate student, is currently riding a scoring streak, having scored 24 or more points in five consecutive games. He leads the team with an average of 17.2 points per game.

Contributors like DJ Burns (12.0 ppg), Casey Morsell (11.6), and Jayden Taylor (11.3) complement Horne in NC State’s offensive schemes.

On the other hand, Syracuse struggles when they make four or fewer 3-pointers, as evidenced in their game against Georgia Tech.

“The shots just didn’t fall,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “We all know it’s a make-and-miss game and we didn’t shoot the ball well.”

Autry’s primary scorers, all sophomores, include guard Judah Mintz averaging 18.3 points per game, JJ Starling at 13.7, and Chris Bell with 11.2 points.

Maliq Brown, a 6-foot-8, 222-pound forward, excels in the paint for Syracuse, contributing 9.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. 

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    Seattle and Grand Canyon will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference and moving to the West Coast Conference starting July 2025.

    The nine current members of the conference are private universities with a religious affiliation. Seattle is a Jesuit institution, while Grand Canyon, situated in Phoenix, is a Christian college.

    Grand Canyon’s basketball achievements were a significant factor in attracting WCC commissioner Stu Jackson. The team has participated in the last two NCAA Tournaments and three of the previous four under the leadership of coach Bryce Drew.

    As the 12th-seeded Antelopes defeated fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s before losing to Alabama in the tournament this season.

    Saint Mary’s is currently a member of the West Coast Conference.

    The WCC, while also integrating Oregon State and Washington State this autumn (excluding football), will expand from 11 to 13 members by the 2025-26 season.

    The future beyond 2026 looks uncertain, with Oregon State and Washington State appearing unlikely to continue with the WCC.

    The former Pac-12 schools are under a two-year contract, expiring on June 30, 2026. Sources from CBS Sports suggest that the odds of the two Pacific Northwest institutions staying are slim, with a move to the Mountain West or a new conference formation being more probable.

    Following the departures of Sam Houston and New Mexico State last year, Seattle and Grand Canyon’s exit from the WAC will reduce the conference’s membership to just eight by July 2025.

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    Former guard of Cal State Fullerton Max Jones has made a decision to join Kansas State for his upcoming collegiate season, according to reports.

    Notable alternatives that Jones purportedly pondered were New Mexico, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic, and Loyola Chicago.

    During the previous season with the Titans, Jones maintained an average of 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds across 24 games, in which he started 21. He secured the second-highest scoring position within the team, alongside being the second in 3-pointers with 42 baskets and 41 steals.

    In the season prior, Jones held an average of 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 32 games, amassing 34 three-pointers and 30 steals.

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    Stanford Names Basketball Court in Honor of Tara VanDerveer

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    Tara VanDerveer’s legacy at Stanford will now be visibly acknowledged, with the school revealing on Thursday that the basketball arena’s floor will bear the name of the esteemed Hall of Fame coach.

    At the age of 70, VanDerveer stepped down following her 38th season at the helm of the Cardinal.

    She steered Stanford to 14 Final Fours and secured three national championships (1990, 1992, 2021). VanDerveer embarked on her coaching journey at Idaho (1978-80) and later coached at Ohio State (1980-85).

    In January, she surpassed Mike Krzyzewski to clinch the title of the most successful college basketball coach in history, across both men’s and women’s teams. VanDerveer concluded with a remarkable 1,216-271 record, boasting a 1,064-220 tally with the Cardinal.

    Alongside the unveiling of the Tara VanDerveer Court at Maples Pavilion this November, Stanford also established an endowed position in women’s basketball for an assistant coach in VanDerveer’s honor.

    VanDerveer said in a statement, “This endowment will go a long way to strengthening the future of Stanford women’s basketball. I have many wonderful memories of leading the women’s basketball program at Maples Pavilion.”

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    Last month, Stanford appointed Kate Paye, one of VanDerveer’s longtime assistant coaches who played for the Cardinal from 1991-95 and began coaching under VanDerveer in 2007, as the new head coach.

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