Connect with us

NC State Basketball

NC State Out-Muscled, Out-Hustled By Duke 95-60

Published

on

NC State ran into a buzzsaw at Cameron Indoor on Saturday afternoon as the Blue Devils absolutely dominated nearly every facet of the game, working over NC State 95-60.

From the get-go you could tell that the Wolfpack wasn’t ready. Duke’s pressure defense was causing State to rush and take quick, poor shots. On the other end it seemed as if State was working extremely hard on defense, only to give up an uncontested layup, or a wide open 3 with the shot clock winding down. You knew that NC State could only withstand this type of play for a short period of time before this game broke open, and eventually in the second half, it did.

Jabari Parker, who came into this game struggling in ACC play, absolutely killed NC State inside and out. The talented freshman went for 23 points, 7 boards and 3 steals. He was everywhere. For NC State, there was no answer. They tried to go inside early and Kyle Washington found some success, but Duke shut that down soon after. TJ Warren was the only consistant on the Wolfpack team once again, scoring 23 points and grabbing 8 boards.

The problem isn’t Warren, it’s the supporting cast. They’re young, they get flustered and they don’t play the game smart. Not yet at least. Against Duke, and especially in Cameron in door, you have to match their toughness and physicality. You can’t shy away when they get up on you, start bumping and grabbing. You have to give it right back to them. State looked scared today and Duke could smell the blood in the water.

They Devils defense swarmed all game. They exposed NC State’s lack of strength and focus. As they got more aggressive State got more careless. The Wolfpack turned it over 23 times. 4 for Anthony Barber. 4 for Dez Lee. 4  for Kyle Washington.

At the end of the day, the Pack realized that there is a ton more work to be done. Here are a few things we think need improvement:

1) The number one most important thing to focus on going forward is toughness. Both mentally and physically this team is weak. They are young, so it’s not abnormal for a team full of freshmen and sophomores to have this problem, but it’s something that has to slowly fade in time. They need to show hunger, desire, and an unquenchable thirst for domination if they want to make waves in this league at some point.

2) This team does not cherish the basketball or their possessions. Have you ever seen those movies where a coach makes his players bring the ball around everywhere he goes. He has to sleep with it, bring it to class with him, and keep it at the table during dinner? Well, that might be a start for the Wolfpack guards. This team has become careless with the ball. Sure their turnovers have been kept to a minimum against teams that don’t apply pressure, but throw a little physicality at these guys and they’ve been coughing it up. 23 in this one, 16 against UVA, it has to be fixed. Which bring us to the next point…

3) This team is having point guard problems and it’s spiraling downward from there. Barber is young and is still learning how to compete at this level. He shows flashes of greatness and will obviously be a key piece for the program going forward, but as you saw tonight, he’s not ready yet. He’s still turning the ball over, getting himself in bad situations and hasn’t figured out how to control the pace and tempo of a basketball game. Barber could have definitely used a mentor, or someone to ease him into this role. The problem is, the guy who should have been helping with that, became competitive over those minutes, lost his starting role and now has lost all confidence. Tyler Lewis used to walk in with bullet-proof confidence. He knew what he wanted to do and he was able to do it. Call it sheer will or mental domination, but Lewis used his sub-par athleticism and speed to really control games in the ACC last season. Since being relieved of starting duties by Gottfried, Lewis has been a shell of his former self. He’s not only having trouble controlling a game, he’s struggling even bringing the ball up against pressure and it showed vs. Duke.

So where does NC State turn? I think you have to keep doing what you’re doing. I think Gottfried has been good lately about tightening the reigns on Barber. He makes a mistake, he puts him on the bench. That’s the only way he’s going to learn how to be perfect, which is what every PG should strive for.

4) The bigs aren’t getting it done. I really liked Kyle Washington’s confidence, intensity and toughness against Duke. It really seemed like he was the only one that was ready to mix it up and go toe to toe with the Devils’ physicality. Outside of that I thought State look lost. Remember, Freeman was out with an ankle injury so I”m basically talking about Vandenberg and Anya. Neither one of those guys were even remotely ready to compete against a team like this. For Anya it’s excusable. The kid really hasn’t seen a game like this before, but for Vandenberg I just don’t know what to say. Zero points, 3 boards and no blocks in 15 minutes. This was in a game where, at 7’1, 245lbs, he is competing against a guy (Amile Jefferson) that is 6’9, 210 or at worst Josh Hairston at 6’8 235lbs. What happened? It seemed like when it gets to ACC play, things just move to fast for Jordan. He’s playing at almost a second delay to everything and that one second is the difference between grabbing a rebound or not. Anya has his own problem with getting in position. The freshman is still working into shape but isn’t quite there yet. He’s still a little too slow to go up against a team like Duke who uses smaller, quicker bigs to take advantage. Just as a note…the smaller Blue Devils out-rebounded NC State 35-32.

5.) These guys are simply firing blanks. They can’t hit a shot outside the arc to save their life. Part of it is that this team just doesn’t have great shooters, but one things that is compounding that is the fact that they aren’t getting many clean looks from 3. The reason for that is that when someone drives to the lane it’s head down, tunnel vision. Barber and Lee both have the ability to get to the lane and draw the D. When it collapses they should be looking for the open man, usually opposite around the arc. You saw Duke do it all day today, simply shredding the Pack with drives and dishes for 3. Today was another awful day from beyond the arc for State. They went 2-8 while Duke went 11-24. That in itself is a 27 point difference.

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

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

NC State Basketball

A Historical Breakdown of the Series Between NC State & Marquette

Published

on

#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette in the Sweet 16 on Friday night, which will mark the 6th time the two teams have played one another.

The first time the Wolfpack and the Golden Eagles played one another was also in the NCAA Tournament, and it just so happened to be the 1974 Championship game, with NC State winning the game 76-64, giving the Pack their first National Championship.

Wolfpack led the way with 21 points, and Tommy Burleson had a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards, with 7 blocks, which is tied for the 8th most in school history in a single game.

NC State also had 12 steals in the game, which is the most by a Pack team in an NCAA Tournament game.

The next time the two teams would meet was on January 21st, in Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack won 89-76, and it was a night for the history books for Point Guard Chris Corchiani. In that game, set ACC career records for assists with 861 and steals with 276.

The following year, the Golden Eagles picked up their first win against the Wolfpack, winning 66-42 in Milwaukee.

It would be over 15 years before NC State and Marquette would play one another again, and this time it would once again be a home-and-home series in back-to-back years.

On December 22nd, 2008, the Wolfpack lost a close one at home, falling 65-68. Wolfpack Forward Brandon Costner hit all five 3-Point attempts in that game, which still stands as the best 3-Point Percentage in a single game in school history.

The following year, on December 5th, 2009, the Wolfpack would claim the lead in the series again, defeating the Golden Eagles 77-73 on the road. NC State big man Tracy Smith had a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Point Guard Javier Gonzalez had 15 points and 7 assists, and Wing Scott Wood knocked down 4 of his 6 three-point attempts.

Continue Reading