Gameday: NC State’s Keys To Beating #25 Mizzou

NC State Wolfpack vs. Missouri Tigers
8pm | ESPN2 | Raleigh, NC

In what will be the toughest test so far this season, NC State is readying for their matchup with #25 Missouri.

State is riding an impressive 7 game winning streak and has not dropped a game since Cat Barber and Jordan Vandenberg have been inserted into the starting lineup. Today’s matchup, however, is going to be a true challenge. #25 Missouri comes into Raleigh having only lost one game all season.

As we broke down in our Missouri scouting article, the Tigers have two very dangerous guards. Jordan Clarkson and Jabari Brown. Both are bigger than anyone the Pack has in their backcourt, and both will require constant attention all night.

If you want to know more about Missouri as a team, click over to our ‘Scouting the Competition’ piece on them from Thursday. In a nutshell, they are a Frank Haith coached team that likes to push the pace. They take a lot of quick shots, but they’re usually open shot in transition. They have a lot of good shooters and they’re mostly all pretty good athletes. They play solid D and they really hustle. This is not going to be a walk in the park for the Wolfpack by any means.

Let’s take a look at the keys for NC State:

– TJ Warren needs to get going. He’s coming in averaging 24 points per game and they’re going to need him to hit that mark if they want to keep up. This Missouri team can put up points in a hurry if they’re on, but so can the Wolfpack. Missouri will likely guard Warren with Earnest Ross, a big, strong wing player who is a good defender. The problem with Ross, however, is his mental lapses. Warren is crafty and will need to find ways to frustrate Ross and throw him off his game. There are only a few defenders in college basketball  that can outright stop TJ Warren. As good as he is, Earnest Ross is not one of them.

– Protect the basketball. This is going to be key. Both teams like to run and gun, but Missouri sometimes gets going a little too fast. They have a tendency to turn it over quite a bit. This is an area that the Wolfpack can really have an advantage. They need to capitalize on Missouri’s mistakes. On the other hand, and really more importantly, is that State doesn’t follow suit. Barber, Lewis and Lee will really need to be smart on the break and make strong passes when rotating the ball. Missouri likes to jump the lanes and cause havoc, but if State can limit turnovers they can win this game.

– Use your advantage inside. Missouri is thin in the middle. They’re relying on underclassmen Jonathan Williams III, a freshman, and Ryan Rosberg, a sophomore, for their paint points. While they aren’t that bad, they aren’t game-changing players. State has recently looked extremely impressive inside thanks to the play of Jordan Vandenberg, Lennard Freeman, Kyle Washington and Beejay Anya. I think this will be key for NC State. They need to continue to dominate inside and rule the boards against smaller, weaker Missouri front line.

– Transition defense is key. Missouri spends most of their games in transition and they’re at their worst when they’re setting up in the half court. State needs to slow them down if possible. One way to do that is to make shots, but when shots don’t fall they need to get back and find their men. Missouri let’s guys leak out to get an advantage on the break. They also like their shooters to flair to the corners for transition 3s. The Wolfpack needs to be aware of this at all times. They also need to respect the 3 ball. When the Tigers are knocking it down from beyond the arc, they are hard to beat. Closing out on guys like Jabari Brown and Earnest Ross is vital. Both guys are certainly more dangerous shooting the basketball than they are driving.