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NC State Basketball

Anya Throws Block Party, Pack Stifles Jacksonville 79-43

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Looks like the days are no more where when NC State struggles on offense they struggle to win. This team is built on solid defense and max effort. They showed those things all night against Jacksonville as they took them to the wood shed 79-43. Here are some notable from last nights game.

Defense, Defense, Defense
Sure, it’s exciting to watch a fast paced, high octane offense, but you know what’s even better? Watching a hard nosed, gritty team that relies on it’s defense to create their offense. Now, this isn’t just your ‘solid,’ ‘smart’ defensive team that is all about position and communication, this is a defense that wants it, they’re in the passing lanes, starving for the steal, dying to turn you over. Yeah, they communicate and have shown great positioning and help side D, but the difference is the effort. In fact, you can see a difference on the sidelines as well. Coach Gottfried, who was always known as an offensive coach is screaming at his players to get in the passing lanes, provide more effort and to turn them over. With a team this deep, this long and this quick, teams are going to have a heck of a time trying to get clean shots off.

Just take last night for example. Jacksonville shot only 23% for the game and struggled to even get the ball to the basket at times. More on that later. The point is, this Wolfpack team is buying in on the defensive end of the floor and it’s very exciting to see. It’s starting up top with the constant harassment that Lacey and Barber and putting on the opposing guards and it’s trickling down to the bigs.

Beejay Anya’s Block Party
The big man was just insane last night. Beejay swatted almost every shot Jacksonville put up in his vicinity. At one point he had blocked 4 consecutive shots and should have had a 5th but the ball went in the basket (counting as a made FG instead). When the dust settled NC State had a new single-game blocks leader. Anya finished with 10, passing Todd Fuller and Thurl Bailey who both were tied with 9. The crazy thing is, he could have had a couple more. His 10th block came with 15 minutes left in the game, but he didn’t play much more as the Pack already had the game in check.

Beejay is going to be a huge factor for the Pack this year. Every great defensive team has an enforcer in the middle and there might not be a better one in the ACC .

Caleb Earning PT?
State’s offense was really struggling at the start of this one, but when Caleb Martin entered things started changing. The freshman forward came in and ignited a 13-0 run that gave State that momentum they carried through the rest of the game. We’ve been wondering who was going to step up and be the go-to scorer for the Pack and we were having a hard time figuring it out. Lacey was always the defacto choice and Ralston Turner was another guy we thought could be the guy, but early on neither of those two have shown elite scoring abilities.

Turner is hampered by his inability to score going to the basket and Lacey, while silky smooth, seems like more of a secondary scorer than a go-to type guy. I’m not claiming Caleb Martin is going to lead this team in scoring, but I think you’re going to see him blossom into that go-to guy role. The twins have always been two of our favorite recruits State has landed since Julius Hodge and they are already showing you why. Their coachability, their motor and their skill set has Gottfried already finding it hard to take them off the floor, Caleb especially.

Last night when it seemed like everyone was off and State was going to have one of those nights offensively, Caleb entered and immediately got aggressive, taking the ball to the rim and making something happen on both ends of the floor. A few 3s and a couple steals later and State is off and running. Caleb finished with a game high 16 points on 6-10 shooting and 3-5 from 3point range.

Cat Barber Working Into Role
You might see Barber’s 9 point, 1 assist, 5 turnover line and think he played awful. While he was off and did have some miscues with the ball, I think you got to see a more patient player last night. He was getting into the lane, creating havoc and finding the open man. The problem was that the open men were not making shots. Cat really should have had around 5 or 6 assists in this one (maybe more?). Now, there’s no excuse for the turnovers, but he’ll work that out.

I just think he played a smarter game as a PG last night and although the stats tell a different story, I’m pleased with the way he ran the team when he was in there. He picked his spots, didn’t get caught inside amongst the trees trying to make something out of nothing, and when in doubt he shook his man and got a nice clean look at the mid range. These shots will fall and he’ll be smarter with the basketball as the season goes on, but the thing that was great to see was his patience and his desire to get his teammates good, clean looks. Barber is an x-factor on this team, as we keep saying, and him being a floor general is paramount to this team’s success and to his future at the next level as a PG.

Freeman, The Quiet Workhorse
You’re not going to see him with many highlight reels and you’re not going to see him lead the team in scoring, but Lennard Freeman is doing a TON of dirty work for this basketball team. He’s filling the Richard Howell role pretty nicely right now and it won’t be going unnoticed for much longer. Freeman put up another nice game, notching a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards. He didn’t turn the ball over and he only fouled one time. He also took a charge. Freeman was an afterthought in the rankings when he was recruited and not many people saw him as a starter this season, but low and behold Lennard is State’s most important big at this moment and it’s going to be very hard to keep him off the court.

Next up is USF on Sunday at 4pm at the PNC. We’ll have more on that game as it approaches.

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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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