Point guard

Scoop Jardine is coming off a ‘horrible’ night from the way Jim Boeheim sees it. For the second time in Syracuse’s first seven games, Jardine was held scoreless. He has been distributing the ball well but needs to find his scoring niche soon. He can’t disappear like he has at times this year. N.C. State senior Javier Gonzalez has been splitting time with freshman Ryan Harrow at the point, and the pair has the speed and overall ability to create problems for Jardine if he doesn’t play up to his capabilities.

Advantage: Even

Shooting guard

Freshman Lorenzo Brown, not the highly touted C.J. Leslie, has been the Wolfpack’s best freshman this season. Though the 6-foot-5 guard hasn’t been shooting the ball with the best efficiency, he’s second on the team in scoring, rebounds the ball very well and leads the squad in assists. His size and perimeter defense could give Syracuse guard Brandon Triche some trouble. Like Jardine, Triche hasn’t been as consistent as Boeheim would like. It will take a big game for Triche to come out on top in this matchup.

Advantage: N.C. State

Small forward

The Orange has been waiting for Kris Joseph to take that next step, and it may have happened last weekend in Atlantic City, N.J. The 6-foot-7 forward compiled 41 points in two games and, perhaps more impressive, has been shooting the ball much better since then. He’s shooting 61 percent from the field in his last three games, after starting the season 11-of-35 (31.4 percent). Joseph will be matched up against N.C. State’s leading scorer, Scott Wood, the best shooter on the team. Once he gets hot, he doesn’t miss very often. But Joseph is the superior player and should win this matchup if he keeps playing the way he has.

Advantage: Syracuse

Power forward

Without question, Rick Jackson has been SU’s best player through the first seven games of the season. He hasn’t gone through the scoring slumps of his veteran counterparts and has dominated opposing forwards inside. His 13 rebounds per game is good for third in the country, and he’s scoring the basketball much more consistently and efficiently than he has at any point during his career. He’ll be matched up against C.J. Leslie, a former McDonald’s All-American considered one of the best athletes in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But Jackson should dominate the smaller Leslie inside.

Advantage: Syracuse

Center

With starter Tracy Smith out after having arthroscopic knee surgery on Nov. 19, DeShawn Painter will get the nod in the middle for the Wolfpack. Since Smith went down, Painter has started the last four games with mixed results. He hasn’t been dominant, but the 6-foot-9 center has averaged seven points and five rebounds. He’ll be matched up against freshman Fab Melo, who is coming off an eight-point, seven-rebound performance against Cornell. Melo has struggled in the early part of the season, but he’s finally starting to show signs of growth. Still, will it be enough?

Advantage: N.C. State

Coaching

Sidney Lowe has yet to take the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament in his four years at the helm. The former N.C. State and NBA point guard, who also coached the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies for two and a half years, perhaps has the talent to do it this year. But he still has not done enough in his coaching career to come close to Boeheim’s level. Boeheim, on the other hand, is looking to mesh his four returning veterans with his highly touted group of freshmen, and it has been rough so far. Saturday, Boeheim will need to get the best out of his core group to avoid a potential upset. He can handle that.

Advantage: Syracuse

Bench

The Wolfpack usually just goes nine deep into its rotation. With Smith out, it could be just seven or eight deep. Still, with freshman Ryan Harrow and sophomore Richard Howell both coming off the bench, N.C. State has a pair of players who could be starting. The 6-foot-1 Harrow might be the fastest player on the floor Saturday and is third on the team in scoring. The 261-pound Howell will provide bruising in the middle. On the flip side, Syracuse has a deep, albeit unproven, bench with a lot of raw talent. We’ve seen flashes from five different bench players this season. Now it’s just a matter of that unit playing consistently.

Advantage: Syracuse

— Compiled by Andrew L. John, sports editor, aljohn@syr.edu

Published on December 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm