When Syracuse visits North Carolina State on Tuesday night, expect quite a bit of attention to fall on Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland.
He started his college career at Syracuse, but now, in his first season with NC State, he has made significant contributions to his new team in Raleigh, N.C.
Copeland provided a 20-point, nine-assist outing against Pitt on Saturday, so he might be getting in tune for this next Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.
“His usage rate was a little high because Darrion (Williams) was in that foul trouble so that wasn’t really the plan but we had to use him quite a bit and he did a really nice job,” NC State coach Will Wade said. “There was a couple of ill-advised shots but for the most part, he was really good.”
Copeland played in 52 games across two seasons with Syracuse — coming off the bench in all except one — before suiting up as a starter last season for McNeese State and then following Wade to NC State. He has started all 20 games for the Wolfpack this season.
The Wolfpack (14-6, 5-2 ACC) won two road games last week, knocking off then-No. 18 Clemson before topping Pitt.
Syracuse (12-8, 3-4) is trying to shed a three-game losing streak that includes Saturday’s 85-76 home setback to Miami.
“I have to find a way to get our guys to understand the consistency and the tough stuff,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “We just have to find a way to embrace that. Talent is just not enough.”
The 13 points scored by Syracuse freshman Kiyan Anthony were his most in an ACC game. There was also a positive for the Orange with only six turnovers, but Miami’s 61.1% shooting is the highest mark against Syracuse this season.
“You can only fix this by continuing to fight and having confidence and pushing forward,” Autry said. “There’s a lot more opportunities out there. …We’ve got to get our edge back.”
NC State beat Pitt 81-72, overcoming a strange statistic: the Wolfpack were outrebounded 52-31. That included Pitt’s 26 offensive boards.
“I thought we were a little bit better in the second half with some of the guards rebounding down, but just really poor effort and we’ve got to get that fixed before Tuesday,” Wade said.
–Field Level Media
