Connect with us

NC State Basketball

Gameday: 5 Questions NC State Needs Answered vs. App State

Published

on

NC State vs. Appalachian State
Raleigh, NC (PNC Arena)
Tonight | 7pm | ESPN3

NC State opens the season tonight at 7pm against Appalachian State. The Mountaineers come in hoping to put a 15-16 season from a year ago, behind them, however the Pack has other plans. Gottfried and company are opening the season with a nearly entirely different team. The only two returning players who will be suiting up for this game are Lewis and Warren, both of whom played big roles last season. They will be looked to for leadership, but this team still has more questions than answers. Let’s take a look at the 5 major questions we want answered tonight.

1) What is the starting lineup?
After a preseason of constantly changing the lineup, tinkering with combinations and allowing freshman to get comfortable, Mark Gottfried has to finally pick his 5. Coming into the preseason there was a question about whether Cat Barber would outplay Lewis and cause a PG controversy. Lewis put that theory to rest quickly, but where does Barber fit in now? He’s played well in preseason games but still needs to adjust to the 2 spot where he’ll see most of his minutes. Then you have Dez Lee. The juco transfer has come in and really impressed with his physicality and ability to score it. So who is going to get the nod tonight? I think it’s a sure bet that Ralston Turner and TJ Warren are in the starting 5, but who’s the 5th? Kyle Washington? I think Beejay Anya has played himself into a strict reserve role at this point and Lennard Freeman will see time, but likely won’t start. I think it will be interesting to see which way Gottfried plays this.

2) Can Turner, Lee and Barber score it?
Lewis is going to score a bit and we all know Warren is going to be the team’s leading scorer, but State isn’t going to win much with only two guys putting up points. They’re going to need Turner, Lee and Barber to produce in that category. Lee and Turner will be your most likely to help in this area, as they are more built to score, but Barber could also chip in at times. Turner and Lee are going to be the biggest keys to this season. If they are great, NC State has the chance to be a big surprise in the ACC, however if they struggle, it’s likely the predictions will come true and the Wolfpack will find themselves near the conference basement.

3) Is Kyle Washington ready?
I think the freshman has shown readiness in spurts, but there’s no time to guide him along. Washington has to be ready now. With Vandenberg out and Anya simply not ready to contribute, it’s going to be Washington’s position to lose. Sure, Freeman will be there for backup, but Kyle is going to have to really anchor the middle for the Wolfpack. He’s going to have to really rebound and really defend in the post or State is going to be killed in the paint night after night. Washington had a decent showing in the first exhibition game but really came alive in the 2nd. This is a kid who was very highly recruited, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him break out in this season opener.

4.) What’s up with Anya?
I’m not sure we’ll see enough of him tonight to really get this answered, but I’m confused. This is a kid who was highly touted coming in. Sure, he showed up a little overweight, but he’s been really outplayed by his own guys and opponents in every game so far. I know there is tons of potential there and he’s a big, big kid, but I wonder what’s going on there. State really needs him to become a star at some point, but I think step one is to get him into playing shape. We might not see the real Anya until midseason, however it’d be nice if he could get a little run in this one and show us something.

5. Can this team defend/rebound?
Sure, all we’ve seen is exhibition games and scrimmages, but so far neither defense nor rebounding has been great. At times I’ve seen really good defense, especially from Turner, Barber, Washington and yes…even Warren, but what about against real competition? UNCP did play hard, but they were undersized and most of their team was way under-talented. What happens when this team faces real teams with real size? Will they be able to match physicality of a stronger team? Will they be disciplined enough to block out and out rebound a bigger front line? Tonight they’ll face a team has some decent size (a front line of 6’8 guys) so we’ll learn something as we watch how they attack the boards.

——–

NC State might not blow out Appalachian State, however they should walk out with a win tonight if they can address the questions above. Realize that there is going to be a learning curve with this team and there is going to be bumps in the road since they are so young, but this is a group with a great attitude and a bright future and I really believe that once they get a little experience that NC State is going to surprise a few people.

Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NC State Basketball

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

Published

on

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

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State has Won 5 ACC Championships this Year

Published

on

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

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

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

Published

on

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?

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

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

Published

on

#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.

Continue Reading