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NC State Basketball

DEEP STATS: How NC State Beat Wake

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How NC state won Defensively

Wake Forest came into this game as one of the worst offensive teams in the country, and NC State capitalized off of that. The Demon Deacons came in with an Offensive Efficiency (points per 100 possessions) of 98.0, and posted a dismal 89.7 against the Wolfpack.

How did they do this? Two reasons: they held Wake to a low effective field goal percentage ((FGM + 0.5*3PM)/FGA) of 43% and boxed out well, holding them to a low offensive rebounding percentage (offensive rebounds/possible offensive rebounds) of 21.4%. Wake Forest has been a poor shooting team all season (46.7%), but the Wolfpack took away one of their strengths, because the Deacons have been one of the better offensive rebounding teams this year (36.8% ranks 56th in the country).

NC State had a chance to take advantage of playing one of the most turnover prone teams in the nation, who came into the game turning it over on 22% of their possessions. Instead, we allowed them to improve in this area, turning it over on 15.2%. This has been an extreme area of weakness for the Pack this year. They hold teams to a low shooting percentage (41.4 eFG% ranks 24th), but are one of the worst teams in the nation at creating turnovers (321st).

The Wolfpack has been one of the more disciplined teams in the country at not putting people on the foul line, coming into the game ranking 28th in Defensive Free Throw Rate (FTA/FGA). With that being said, they were lucky to make it out of this one alive, nearly doubling their Defensive Free Throw Rate average (26.5), posting a rough number of 52.6. Fortunate for the Pack, the Deacons only made 16 of their 30 free throw attempts.

How NC State won Offensively

NC State came in to the game with an Offensive Efficiency (points per 100 possessions) of 106.0, which ranked 48th nationally. They improved upon that number against Wake, with an Offensive Efficiency of 107.6. How did they do this? Two reasons: they shot lights out and lived on the free throw line. The fact that NC State shot his well was a breathe of fresh air. They came into the game with an average Effective Field Goal Percentage of 48.9% which ranked 155th. They responded with an eFG% of 59.6%, which was a season high. They also came in with a Free Throw Rate (FTA/FGA) of 49.3, which ranked 29th. On Saturday, the Pack posted a Free Throw Rate of 70.2, which was also a season high. They lived on the stripe.

The Wolfpack came in as pretty good Offensive Rebounding team, collecting 37.3% of their possible offensive rebounds, which ranked 51st in the nation. The problem was that Wake Forest ranked #2 in the nation in preventing offensive rebounds, and that they did against the Pack. NC State only grabbed 21.4% of their possible offensive rebounds.

Besides taking care of the ball, there is nothing more important offensively than taking care of the ball, and the Pack did this poorly on Saturday. If they wouldn’t have been so strong in other areas, this would have cost them game. They turned the ball on 20.7% of their possessions, which was their second worst TO% of the season.

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

What an ugly game. The refs were beyond horrible this game. I believe 60+ foul calls? I mean seriously. It was too many whistles on both sides. It killed the rhythm for both teams. Desmond Lee had more fouls than minutes. The Pack needs to win every game against the lower tier schools in the conference because there are some major deficiencies in this group. It was yet another game with basically no post presence. This is clearly a guard dominated offense (thank goodness for Lacey). That just won’t get it done against better teams with more balance. What I… Read more »

NC State Basketball

An NC State Win Over Marquette in the Sweet 16 Would Be…

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Awesome. Obviously.

#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette tomorrow night in the Sweet 16. What would a win mean for the Wolfpack? Many things, but here’s just a few:

It would give NC State 25 wins on the year (25-14), which would be the most wins since 1982-83, when the Wolfpack went 26-10, winning the National Championship.

It would mark the 12th time in school history that NC State has won 25+ games in a single season.

1982-83 – 26-10 

1973-74 – 30-1 

1972-73 – 27-0 

1954-55 – 28-4 

1953-54 – 26-7

1952-53 – 26-6 

1950-51 – 30-7 

1949-50 – 27-6 

1948-49 – 25-8 

1947-48 – 29-3

1946-47- 26-5

It would be the 7th time NC State has advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

1950

1951

1974

1983

1985

1986

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NC State Basketball

NC State has Won 5 ACC Championships this Year

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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

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NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 4 Schools to Have Both Men & Women’s Basketball Teams in Sweet 16

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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?

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NC State Basketball

#3 seed NC State Holds on Against #6 Seed Tennessee, Defeating the Vols 79-72 to Advance to the Sweet 16

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#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.

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