NC State Wolfpack @ Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Tonight | 9pm |Winston Salem, NC | ACC Network and ESPN3

After what was the most lopsided home loss since NC State moved to their new arena in 1999, NC State is looking to move forward.

To do that they’re going to have to travel to Winston-Salem to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who sit with the exact same record as NC State.

Get to know Wake:
This is a team that, outside of a win over UNC (who is struggling mightily), hasn’t really done too much. They have a 9 point loss to then #2 Kansas and they’ve been blown out by both Virginia and Pitt. The book on Wake is that they’re big, strong, but struggle offensively.

They are led by Codi Miller-McIntyre who is scoring nearly 16 ppg. He’s not a great shooter, but he’s quick and strong and likes to get in the lane. He’s having a great sophomore season and is one of the better scoring guards in the league.

Their other guy to watch is none other than Devin Thomas. Why does that name ring a bell? Maybe because Thomas went absolutely nuts against State last season. The guy dropped 25 points and grabbed 14 boards against guys like Richard Howell and CJ Leslie. This guy is a machine on the blocks at 6’9, 245lbs and will need to be dealt with by guys like Vandy, Anya and Freeman.

Keys for NC State:
– Let’s start off with the most obvious. They need to get Warren going. TJ Warren did nearly nothing against Virginia and State was blown out by 30. Tonight they can’t let that happen again. The blueprint is out there. Stop Warren and State crumbles. That actually might be the case, but even if they do stop Warren, NC State needs to be able to stick together and overcome.

–They need to play physical. Last time out, Virginia exposed them like I’ve never seen. They were soft, they were scared and they withered under the pressure. Wake isn’t going to be as physical, but State really needs to get their act together mentally. This is a very talented team with some big bodies. They shouldn’t be getting pushed around.

I know we make the excuse that State is young. It’s very true and likely the reason that we’ve seen this dramatic inconsistency this season. That being said, I hate hearing it as excuses coming from the players in the post game interviews. Sure you are a young team and young teams make mistakes, but these guys are not supposed to believe in that notion. They can’t use it as a crutch even if it’s obviously right there in front of them. This team needs to grow up and grow up fast. They need to get a lot tougher and start playing like men. No one is going to give these guys anything. If they want to win they have to get into the mindset of taking what they want. Young or not, this team needs to be mentally prepared to go to war tonight.

– Wake is also a team that just is not that great at handling  pressure. They will turn the ball over when they get flustered, and they get flustered when the pressure is turned up. State will likely try to speed them up by using that 3/4 court press that worked so well against Notre Dame (and then didn’t work well against UVA because they decided to shoot 70% in the first half).

–State also needs to sit back and make the Deacons shoot it. This team loves to get inside and attack, but if you force them into long shots you certainly will control this game. Wake shoots only 32% from 3 point range, which is poor, but not as poor as State’s 30% from beyond the arc. The only player that the Pack needs to really key on is Coron Williams who is averaging 10 ppg and shooting almost 42% from 3 point range.

– It might be time for a little more Anya. Vandenberg started the season off with a bang, but at this point he’s not really bringing much to the table. He looks slow and hesitant against these biggers, stronger ACC bigs, and he’s not really affecting many shots. Vandy has always had a problem playing smaller than he is, but with Anya coming alive lately it might be time to start giving him a majority of the minutes at center.

** What are your keys to this game? Was the game against Virginia an outlier or does the Wolfpack have serious flaws that are now being exposed? We want to discuss it with you. Get in the conversation HERE in our forum.