NC State is coming into this game with a 17-14 record this season and they are 9-11 in the conference. They have been struggling in the conference all season and they have been awful in their recent games to end the regular season. They have lost 4 of their last 5 as well as 5 of their last 7 games and that includes a 4 point loss at home against Syracuse in that span. They are coming off of a 9 point win in their last game which was also the 1st round of this tournament, but their defense has not been good as they allowed 85 points against one of the worst teams in the conference while also allowing 79+ points in their last 5 straight games. They are going up against a Syracuse team that is 20-11 this season and is 11-9 in the conference this year. They have been playing very well in their recent games as they have won 4 of their last 5. They are coming off of a loss against Clemson in their last game of the season but they only have 3 losses in their last 9 games and their offense has been scoring 82+ points in 4 of their last 5 games which is going to be an issue for an NC State team that has been allowing more points in their most recent games. Syracuse is also going to have the confidence here of having beaten NC State twice this season. Syracuse has been the better team in the conference all season but they have also been heating up in their recent games coming into this tournament as they know they need to make a good impression with a deep run to be considered as a possible tournament team. Syracuse will cover the spread in this game.