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NC State held on to beat Pittsburgh 79-74. Mark Gottfried wanted to see more effort out of his players and they indeed played with intensity and desire. What are some of the headlines from last night’s game?

Markell Johnson’s energy, defense, and playmaking influenced the game for NC State.

The freshman guard had a big night for NC State as he scored 8 points and recorded 7 assists. Defensively Johnson was outstanding as he took away passing lanes, pressured the ball, and contested shots well. Mark Gottfried could not keep him off the court as his play earned 33 minutes of playing time. NC State’s offense hummed with Johnson penetrating the Pitt defense to find open players. The Wolfpack have a unique advantage when both Johnson and Smith are on the court together as both players find the paint with their quickness. One highlight of the game included a missed shot that saw Markell fly out of nowhere for the tip slam put back! The Pack will be just fine with Markell running the show once Dennis Smith is gone.

Omer Yurtseven showed toughness gathering 16 rebounds and scoring 12 points.

Finally, Omer had an impact on an ACC game in the way he used his length to attack the glass. The Wolfpack outrebounded the Panthers 44-30 because of Yurtseven’s effort on the glass. The seven-footer also knocked down two huge free-throws at the end of the game to help preserve the win. Another positive for Omer was his willingness to attack the rim as he had some nice finishes in traffic. Yurtseven needs to get stronger and stop bringing the ball down once he gets a rebound; however, it was an improvement. Last night’s game can be a confidence builder for the skilled big man and should be a building block for the rest of the year.

Defensively NC State showed improvement but still struggled to guard the three-ball.

The Pitt Panthers have a deadly three-point attack as they spread teams out with their shooters. We knew NC State would struggle to guard Michael Young a big man with three-point range and that was the case. Pittsburgh knocked down 12-28 from the three-point line. The Pack showed improvement by pressuring the ball on the perimeter and making it difficult on Jamel Artis. NC State has to be pleased with holding Artis to just 16 points on 5-15 shooting. Dennis Smith led by example defensively as Mark Gottfried gave him the challenge of guarding Artis and he did a solid job!

Maverick Rowan and Terry Henderson picked up the Wolfpack offensively.

Maverick Rowan knocked down 6-9 threes as he caught fire on the night. Rowan’s teammates did an excellent job at setting him up as well as feeding him once they saw that look in his eye. Terry Henderson had a great game as well scoring 21 points and knocking down four threes. These two players saved the Pack due to Dennis Smith not having his typical scoring night. Not only was Smith off but Abu played just 13 minutes due to fouls.

The Pack finally get off the shneid by beating Pittsburgh. Standing 2-4 in ACC play as they head into Saturday’s game aginst Wake Forest. NC State fought their way back in the second half when it appeared that Pittsburgh was one possession from putting the game away. The Wolfpack refused to quit and despite some shaky execution at the end walked away with the victory. The Wolfpack returns to the court this Saturday at 2 o’clock facing Wake Forest with coverage on the ACC Network.

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Tarhater
Tarhater
7 years ago

Rowan, Yurtseven and Johnson deserve game balls. Dennis Smith,jr touched the ball 18 times in the last 5 minutes of the game which produced 2 turnovers, 2 foul shots (important) and 14 neutral exchanges. Said another way, his touches were net negative down the stretch. The offense runs better with Johnson running the show. DS,jr is too much dribble isolation.

Jules
Jules
7 years ago
Reply to  Tarhater

It is also fairly difficult to dribble penetrate into a 3-2 zone, there are going to be many times when DSJR attacking the basket is the best option, but it was nice to see that we did not just settle for that on every single play.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago
Reply to  Tarhater

We will be a better team next year if all we loose is DSJR.

yakima2k
yakima2k
7 years ago
Reply to  Tarhater

Johnson is a quality player with great potential, and he had a great game last night, but from a plus/minus and win shares perspective (or any other measure that doesn’t involve an arm chair and a TV) there’s just no comparison between him and DSJ. We are almost unquestionably worse with DSJ on the bench.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago
Reply to  yakima2k

Looks like you are in the minority concerning DSJR, YAK.

yakima2k
yakima2k
7 years ago
Reply to  wolfpack74

Thankfully internet commenters don’t make the decisions about playing time. You can count on our fan base to be self-defeating – it’s what we do best.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago
Reply to  yakima2k

I don’t know what planet you came from. Our self-defeating attitude is based on what we have seen on the field and court. Lucky for me when I was in school, we were one of the dominant team in football, basketball, and baseball in the ACC. I am still waiting on a revival. You can just keep drinking the Kool-Aid.

NC State Basketball

An NC State Win Over Marquette in the Sweet 16 Would Be…

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Awesome. Obviously.

#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette tomorrow night in the Sweet 16. What would a win mean for the Wolfpack? Many things, but here’s just a few:

It would give NC State 25 wins on the year (25-14), which would be the most wins since 1982-83, when the Wolfpack went 26-10, winning the National Championship.

It would mark the 12th time in school history that NC State has won 25+ games in a single season.

1982-83 – 26-10 

1973-74 – 30-1 

1972-73 – 27-0 

1954-55 – 28-4 

1953-54 – 26-7

1952-53 – 26-6 

1950-51 – 30-7 

1949-50 – 27-6 

1948-49 – 25-8 

1947-48 – 29-3

1946-47- 26-5

It would be the 7th time NC State has advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

1950

1951

1974

1983

1985

1986

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NC State Basketball

NC State has Won 5 ACC Championships this Year

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NC State has won 5 ACC Championships this year, which is the most of any athletic program in the conference this year.

The Wolfpack has won ACC Titles in Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, Men’s Basketball and Gymnastics.

The last time NC State won 5 ACC Championships in one year was 1979-80.

As far as I can tell, here’s a look at the Wolfpack Conference Titles from 1979-80:

Football
Women’s Basketball
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Men’s Tennis

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NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 4 Schools to Have Both Men & Women’s Basketball Teams in Sweet 16

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NC State is 1 of 4 schools to have their Men and Women’s Basketball teams BOTH advance to the Sweet 16, along with Duke, Gonzaga and UCONN.

NC State and Duke are the only two schools in the country to send both Basketball teams to the Sweet 16, and also send the Football team to a bowl game.

This marks only the third time in school history that BOTH teams made the Sweet 16.

Years NC State’s Men & Women’s Teams Made the Sweet 16

1985
1989
2024

Despite the fact that the Men’s team has made the Elite 8 six times (1950, 1951, 1974, 1983, 1985, 1986), and the Women have made it 2 times (1998 & 2022), in the three occasions they both went to the Sweet 16 in the same year, neither team advanced to the Elite 8.

In 2024, Why Not Us?

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NC State Basketball

#3 seed NC State Holds on Against #6 Seed Tennessee, Defeating the Vols 79-72 to Advance to the Sweet 16

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#3 seed NC State held on last night, defeating #6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Reynolds Coliseum to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 5th time in the last 6 tournaments.

The Wolfpack led by only 1 after the 1st Quarter, but they looked like they had things under control at halftime, leading by 18 points.

At one point, NC State led by as much as 20 points in the 3rd Quarter, but the Lady Volunteers weren’t about to give up.

With 4:19 left in the 4th, Tennessee cut the lead to 2 points, but NC State might have bent, but they wouldn’t break.

Junior Guard Aziaha James led the way with 22 points and 7 assists, which were both team highs. She scored 7 points in the final 3.5 minutes, helping to squash tue Last Vols’ comeback attempt.

Junior Guard Saniya Rivers had 20 points (6-14 FG) and 6 boards.

Freshman Zoe Brooks was clutch off the bench, chipping in 16 points and 6 boards.

This marks the 16th time the NC State Women’s Basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16.

The Wolfpack will play #2 seed Stanford on Friday night at 7:30pm on ESPN in Portland.

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