NC State Faces Early Must-Win vs Maryland

NC State vs. Maryland
9pm | Raleigh, NC | ESPNU

NC State is coming off of another painful performance against Duke this weekend and faces a quick turnaround tonight vs. Maryland. Here are the game notes for tonights game.

-Take care of the basketball
NC State had 16 turnovers against UVA and then two games later gave it up 23 more times against Duke. This team needs to start taking better care of the ball. Its starts with the guards who have been just plain bad against heavy pressure. Maryland is going to be physical and going to look to put the pressure on the young backcourt. Cat Barber, Dez Lee and Tyler Lewis are going to be very important in this matchup. Maximizing possessions and limiting turnovers will be the key tonight.

– Control the boards
They did a great job in the first half against Duke, but the Wolfpack bigs went soft in the 2nd half and ended up losing the battle of the boards. Kyle Washington is starting to come on strong, but Vandenberg, Anya need to step it up. Since league play started, Vandy has really trailed off. They need an inside presence and some real physicality if they want to compete against a big, strong Terp front line. Lennard Freeman may be back tonight after hurting his ankle in practice, but that’s not a definite. Without Freeman, State will be at a disadvantage tonight. The Terps are going to rely on Evan Smotrycz inside. He’s a 6’9, 230lb big man who collects almost 7 rebounds per game. He’s also decent on the offensive end. The Wolfpack bigs needs to be aware of him around the basket at all times. Keeping him off of the offensive glass is vital.

– Stop Dez Wells and Jake Layman. 
These are Marylands top two scorers. Wells is big and physical and loves to take the ball to the hole. He’s going to try to get to the line with strong drives, but State needs to limit that. Playing off of Wells and making him shoot is their best bet. He’s averaging nearly 15 points per game and plays with a ton of intensity. Jake Layman has also started to make a name for himself for the Terps. He’s a 6’8 swing man who can shoot it. Warren will likely take him on defense and should really pressure him and frustrate him on every touch. Since ACC lay started, Layman has also had trouble dealing with the physical play. His scoring has dipped and he’s become less aggressive. Warren needs to all over him tonight and make sure he doesn’t have a breakout game (like Jabari Parker did this weekend).

– Get that swagger back
Early in the season this team was playing with a ton of confidence. They were trusting each other and really playing as a team. Lately it’s kind of seemed disjointed out there. The guys aren’t playing selfish but the level or trust and togetherness has wained. Tonight they’re going to need to play as a team, get everyone involved and make sure that Maryland’s pressure and physicality doesn’t disrupt them. This starts with Barber. He needs to jump in and grab the leadership role. If he can take the reigns, control his team and make good decision in decisive moments, I think this team could make a very quick turnaround. Barber’s shot selection has been better, but it’s also come at the expense of his aggressiveness. He needs to find that fine line where he can attack at will, but still get his teammates involved and on the same page. The key phrase tonight is ‘smart basketball.’ If they can play within themselves, get physical and weather Maryland’s runs, then they can walk away with the victory. If they can’t, then we might be in for another debacle.