Connect with us

NC State Basketball

NC State vs. Florida State: Game Preview

Published

10 years ago

on

NC State Wolfpack vs Florida State Seminoles
9pm | Raleigh, NC | ACCN

Is this young Wolfpack team starting to turn the corner? After two very impressive, very hard-fought wins, they just might be.

With a comeback win over Maryland, without TJ Warren, and then an overtime thriller against Georgia Tech in which Tyler Lewis stepped up, it’s starting to look like this team is really starting to come together. Tonight, however, they’re going to have another tough test against FSU.

This Florida State team is already having a pretty good season. They’ve beaten some very good teams, including #10 VCU, #22 UMass and a surprising good Clemson team. Like usual, this team gets it done with physicality. They are a defense-first type team that will rely on the game being sloppy and slow. On offense they look to guard Ian Miller (13ppg) and Aaron Thomas (12ppg) to get things going. Neither one is a prolific scorer, but they play hard and they play strong. The pace of this game will be much like that of the UVA game. It’s likely going to be loosely called and State is going to have to play through bumping and pushing.

Here are the keys for State:

Play Strong
Losses to Pitt , Duke and UVA have really proved that this team does not like playing against teams that commit to physicality on defense. They invite contact and make the Pack either get push back or back down. So far, State has backed down. Tonight they will need to come out expecting contact and ready to give it right back

Stay Focused
With the snow basically crippling the southeast right now, people aren’t going to want to risk it and come out to a 9pm game. I’m guessing they will let all the students down to the front, but even then it’s not going to be very crowded. State needs to come out focused and not be brought down by the lack of momentum from the crowd.

Lean on Lee
Defensively, State needs Lee to be in lockdown mode again. He’s really been huge this season on defense. When there is a guard they need to stop, Lee steps up. Tonight he’ll be on either Miller or Thomas. If he can stop either one of them, State’s chances look good.

Lewis and Barber …Ride the Hot Hand
This is going to be a game of ball control. Who can maximize their possessions and who can better protect the basketball? That’s going to be huge in this one. FSU is going to put on the pressure and State needs to handle it. Will the game tip more towards Barber, who can cause havoc by getting by his man when pressure is applied? Or will it be Lewis’ ball control and pace management that will work better? That’s up to Gottfried, but as he’s done recently, he needs to ride the hot hand at PG, it’s one of the major reasons State has been able to adjust in-game.

Unleash the Bigs
Whether it’s Vandy, Anya, Washington or Freeman, it seems like the Wolfpack bigs are coming up big at every turn. These guys are young and constantly showing growth, but against FSU they’re going to need to be ready to get physical real fast. The Noles don’t have any real skilled bigs, other than Okaro White, that they need to worry about, but they have bigs that are very active and love to get at it on the glass. White is averaging 12 and 7, so he’s kind of their do it all guy, but Warren can match up with him and hopefully shut him down.

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

NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is Currently Visiting NC State

Published

5 hours ago

on

April 19, 2024

By

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is on a visit to NC State currently, according to a source.

Indiana State Transfer Ryan Conwell was on campus last week, but he just committed to Xavier.

From what I hear, the staff preferred James over Connell anyway. A plus with James is he has 2 years of eligibility, whereas Conwell has 1.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

Rivals ranked James as the #71 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, and ESPN ranked him as the #7 prospect in the state of Florida.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years. This year, he averaged 12.6 points and 5 rebounds.

For a more extensive look at James’ game, click here.

Rivals ranks James as the #77 overall player in the Transfer Portal.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is a Priority for NC State

Published

9 hours ago

on

April 19, 2024

By

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

NC State already hosted Indiana State Transfer Guard Ryan Conwell last week, and while the Wolfpack coaches like both players, from what I’m hearing, James would be their preference.

NC State hasn’t had James in for a visit, but that could happen soon.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State’s Casey Morsell is the 4th Player in NCAA History to Start 41 Games in a Season

Published

14 hours ago

on

April 19, 2024

By

NC State Guard Casey Morsell started 41 games for the Wolfpack this season, becoming the 4th player in NCAA history to do so.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by NC State Basketball (@packmensbball)

Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.

Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Georgetown Transfer Dontrez Styles Commits to NC State!

Published

1 day ago

on

April 18, 2024

By

Georgetown Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles (6’6″/212) has committed to NC State!

Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.

Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.

After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.

ON3 ranks Styles as the #104 overall player in the Portal.

With his final year of eligibility, Styles’ made the right choice this time.

NC State now has 2 scholarships remaining after Styles’ commitment.

Continue Reading