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NC State travels north to take on Boston College Wednesday night at 9 PM with RSN providing coverage. Both teams are coming into the contest after losing on the road. Boston College couldn’t overcome turnovers to knock off the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor. NC State suffered a lopsided loss to Carolina. Both teams are 1-2 in ACC play and will look to get to even their records with a win. What must NC State do to find their first road ACC win of the season?

NC State must take care of the basketball.

Wolfpack cannot afford to give up possessions as well as easy baskets that result from live ball turnovers. In their two road games at Miami and Carolina, the Pack averaged 20.5 TPG and 28 points off those turnovers. That cannot happen on the road in the ACC. It will take a total team effort to play within the framework of the offense and not go off script. NC State needs to have the discipline to outwork their defenders to get to their spots in the half court. Dennis Smith Jr. must be in control and not force the issue early in the shot clock. Mark Gottfried needs his group to be quick but not in a hurry. NC State Should win if they can play under control by taking care of the basketball.

Transition defense will be critical if NC State will win Wednesday.

Boston College is averaging 81.3 PPG in ACC play. They are getting out in the open court as well as pushing the pace on makes and misses. Ky Bowman has been electric during ACC play averaging 21 PPG. Bowman is aggressive at pushing the basketball up court because of his speed and athletic ability. Paired with Bowman is sophomore Jerome Robinson who is equally lethal on the break as he possesses smooth handles and length to finish in traffic. NC State’s guards have got to be aware of these two and get back on defense to stop the ball. Everyone in Red & White needs to sprint the floor to get back and thwart BC’s fast break attack. NC State can slow down the Eagles if they force them to have to execute in the half-court aginst a set defense.

NC State needs to make Jerome Robinson work on both ends of the court.

Robinson is having an excellent sophomore campaign averaging over 20 points per game. Boston College has found a go-to scorer who has the skill set to score in a variety of ways. Robinson loves to move without the ball utilizing ball screens to lose his defender. Another area that Robinson thrives at is keeping defenders off-balance by changing pace. NC State will need to keep him marked when he is off-ball as well as shade his direction on help-side defense.

Terry Henderson will be up for the challenge as he is familiar with Robinson’s game. Both players have played aginst each other in the Summer as Robinson trains in Raleigh in the off-season. Henderson must do his best to bait Robinson into tough contested jumpers off the bounce. Offensively whoever Robinson is guarding needs to work hard off-ball in order to wear him down. That means being physical with Robinson on screens and not letting him off the hook by shooting quick jumpers. The tone needs to be set early as allowing Robinson easy baskets early will fuel his confidence throughout.

The Wolfpack needs to display heart Wednesday night.

The adage is that a team is only as good as their last performance. That axiom rings especially true with NC State this season. Wednesday night is not as much about game plans, plays, as it is about heart and hustle. Each player should be counting down the seconds until tip-off Wednesday night to erase some of the pain from their last outing. Dennis Smith, Terry Henderson, Torin Dorn, Malik Abu, and Omer Yurtseven will need to set the expectation of playing hard from the start. That means diving on the ground, working hard off-ball, defending like their lives depend on it, and having positive body language. Wednesday night is NC State’s opportunity to play each game like it is their last because that is the only way to win in the ACC.

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RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

a shot? I mean if its early and we still have time to turn things around why not give Butch a shot? I’m sure he cant do any worse than Mark is right now. I mean he did say he didnt give a S**t. Fans don’t even have the desire to watch NCSU Mens BBall right now. This is sad…

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago
Reply to  RIZ DOLLA

My bad this was a continuation of my original post I corrected it below.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

I have never blamed the players because they did their job with being recruited to this level they are blessed with talent. Mark’s coaching just is not getting the job done. Point blank and it kills me that everyone sees it other than the AD or whoever he reports to. I mean they cant see it right because if they did… Butch Pierre seems to have coached at elite programs. Why not give him

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago
Reply to  RIZ DOLLA

a shot? I mean if its early and we still have time to turn things around why not give Butch a shot? I’m sure he cant do any worse than Mark is right now. I mean he did say he didnt give a S**t. Fans don’t even have the desire to watch NCSU Mens BBall right now. But we got better! smh…This is sad…

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago

Great job at BC. DSJ needs to go back to AAU ball and take Gott with him.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago
Reply to  wolfpack74

DSJ just needs a coach to coach him.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago
Reply to  RIZ DOLLA

I agree, but he will only be here a year and Gott is still the coach!!!!!!

NC State Basketball

Snag 5 New ACCT Inspired NC State Shirts Today!

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Our friends over at BreakingT have released 5 new ACC Tournament Inspired NC State Shirts, and they can become yours today!

Click here today to check out these shirts, and many others!

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NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 11 Schools with Men’s & Women’s Teams in the NCAAT, & a Football Team in a Bowl Game

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NC State is 1 of 11 schools to have both their Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams earn spots in the NCAA Tournament, while also having a Division-I Football team that played a game in the postseason.

The Wolfpack Women’s Basketball team is a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the Men are an #11 seed. The Football team lost to Kansas St. 19-28 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Here’s a look at the other the 11 schools who have pulled off the trifecta.

NC State
Tennessee
Texas
Texas A&M
Kansas
Alabama
Arizona
Auburn
Duke
Iowa St.
UNC

NC State is the only school in the nation, to have both their Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams play in their Conference’s Championship game.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s DJ Burns Joins the 2,000 Point Club

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This past Saturday was a good night for NC State’s DJ Burns. He led NC State to their 1st ACC Championship since 1987. He earned the ACC Tournament MVP Award. He also joined the 2,000 point club.

With 11:52 left in the 2nd half, Burns fittingly made a hook shot that added up to his 1,999th point and his 2,000th point.

Burns joined DJ Horne, who joined the 2,000 point club earlier in the ACC Tournament in the Wolfpack’s victory over Duke.

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NC State Basketball

NC State is Right Outside of the AP Top-25 Heading into the NCAA Tournament

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The new Men’s College Basketball AP Poll is out, and NC State is right outside of the Top-25, sitting at 29th heading into the 1st round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack will be playing Texas Tech in the 1st round on Thursday night at 9:40, and the Red Raiders moved up 3 spots in this poll to #22.

ACC Teams in the AP Poll

5. UNC
13. Duke
29. NC State
39. Clemson

It is interesting that NC State is the 3rd highest ranked team in the AP Poll, but are the lowest seed of any ACC team in the NCAA Tournament.

With a good showing in the NCAA Tournament, the Wolfpack could find themselves in the Final AP Top-25 for the first time since 2003-04, when they finished 15th. NC State has been ranked in the Final AP Top-25 seventeen times.

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