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WATCH: Jim Boeheim, Kevin Keatts have terse, odd interaction in handshake line after Syracuse beat NC State

On3 imageby:Andrew Graham•02/14/23•

AndrewEdGraham

NC State v Syracuse
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 14: Head Coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange and head coach Kevin Keatts of the North Carolina State Wolfpack shake hands after a game at JMA Wireless Dome on February 14, 2023 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim and North Carolina State coach Kevin Keatts had a bit of an odd moment in the handshake line after the Orange topped the Wolfpack, 75-72, in back-and-forth ACC game. In the final minutes, a few key foul calls worked against the Wolfpack, including a charge call that sent big man DJ Burns to the bench for good with just under two minutes remaining.

On the other end, some critical free throws for the Orange helped secure the win. In the handshake line, it looked like Keatts said something to Boeheim, causing Boeheim to apparently interject — with some gesticulation, for good measure.

Whatever was said, it clearly didn’t cut too deep, as both coaches ended up walking away from the interaction chuckling.

We might hear some more from the coaches in their postgame press conferences, but what exactly was said between the two might stay private.

ACC distributes memo on ‘unacceptable conduct’ after NIL accusations by Boeheim

The ACC office last week issued a conference-wide memo to its athletic directors, men’s and women’s basketball head coaches and women’s basketball committee members addressing recent “unacceptable conduct” and “public comments that are not in line with the ACC’s Sportsmanship Principle.”

The memo, obtained by On3 through a public records request, didn’t name any individual schools or coaches. But the ACC distributed it roughly 36 hours after Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim alleged in a Saturday night interview with ESPN that ACC foes Miami, Pitt and Wake Forest each “bought a team” through NIL deals.

Monday morning, Boeheim issued a public apology through the official Syracuse men’s basketball Twitter account, saying he believes ACC member schools are “in compliance” with the NCAA’s rules that govern NIL. The ACC’s memo came within an hour after Syracuse released Boeheim’s public apology.

“This memorandum is in regards to observations the conference office has made over the last two weeks of the 2022-23 ACC men’s and women’s basketball seasons,” said the memo, which was addressed from commissioner Jim Phillips. “Specifically, this pertains to unacceptable conduct during and after games, and public comments that are not in line with the ACC’s Sportsmanship Principle.

“As a reminder, the ACC’s Sportsmanship Principle makes it the responsibility of each member institution to ensure that all individuals associated with the institution’s athletics program conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner. For those that do not meet the standard, it also sets forth penalties for acts of unsportsmanlike conduct.”

On3’s Andy Wittry contributed to this report.