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Pack Heads to the Garden to Take on #22 WVU

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10 years ago

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NC State vs. #22 West Virginia
9:30 PM | Madison Square Garden, NYC | ESPN2

In arguable the most historic basketball venue, NC State is getting set to face off against West Virginia tonight at 9:30pm.

The Bob Huggins led Mountaineers are off to a great start. Ranked #22 in the nation, these guys are 9-1 and already have a win over #17 UConn and bring to the table the #1 ranked defense in the nation. Averaging 13.7 steals per game and forcing turnovers on over 30% of their opponents possessions, the Mountaineers will be a tough challenge for the Pack.

The good news is that NC State is coming off of a hard fought win over another very physical, very defensive team in Tennessee. But West Virginia isn’t just a one sided coin. They also have an offense that ranks 28th in the nation in points per game. They do it with the help of All-American PG Juwan Staten. Staten is a 6’1 senior who averages 15 points and 4 assists per game. He does it by creating off the dribble, getting to the rim or knocking down a midrange jumper. He’s only shooting about two 3s per game, so he’s not trying to beat you from beyond the arc. State will have to limit Staten’s penetration if they want a shot in this one.

How West Virginia does it…
WVU isn’t a one man show by any means. They have 3 guys averaging in double figures and two more guys getting more than 7 per game. They are led by Staten, but they also have 6’7 senior Jonathan Holton and 6’9 senior forward Devin Williams. These guys are strong, active and talented. Like any Bob Huggins led team, they are going to be scrappy, in your face and very physical. They like to generate offense off of their turnovers, so protecting the basketball is going to be paramount. They also aren’t going to shoot you out of the gym. Their best options from the perimeter are Staten and Daxter Miles Jr, both of whom are shooting a pedestrian 35% from 3. Stopping the penetration and keeping their bigs from getting too deep should be two areas of emphasis for the Wolfpack defense.

How State can win…
Stopping Staten will be a start. He’s a shoot first PG who is trying hard to become more of a floor general. If State can can keep him from going off, they will have a real shot at winning this game. Defense is going to be huge, but getting going offensively is going to be the bigger task. WVU plays crazy defense. They are in passing lanes, going for steals and playing very physical basketball. The Pack did a great job of handling this kind of defense from Tennessee, but the Mountaineers bring it to the next level. Cat Barber, Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner are going to have to be very strong with the basketball. No weak passes, no letting their guard down, because the minute they do, the Mountaineers will jump all over them.

Huggins group is also a big, strong rebounding group and the Wolfpack bigs are going to need to step up tonight. Anya needs to stay out of foul trouble and Abu, Washington and Freeman are going to have to ready to fight on the glass. Meanwhile, this might be a nice matchup for Abu. He has been coming on strong and this is a game where his motor and physicality can really come in handy.

State is holding opponents to around 36% shooting, which is really good and they have a chance to do that again against the Mountaineers. As a collective group they simply are struggling shooting the basketball. If they aren’t getting to the rim or controlling the offensive glass, they can go through long stretches of sloppy offensive basketball. State needs to make sure this happens tonight by pestering the guards and really not backing down to the physicality of the bigs.

 

Key Players for State….
Cat Barber‘s play is going to be huge. I thought he played the best game of his young career against Tennessee. It wasn’t so much the stat line, although he did have 8 assists and only 1 TO, but he also played smart basketball and made good decisions all night long. Barber only shot the ball 3 times, and all 3 were good shots. This is the type of game we’ll need to see out of him tonight. Sure, there will be times when he needs to score it, but he is starting to understand his strengths and weaknesses and play accordingly. Protecting the ball and getting it to the right people at the right time will go a long way in leaving NYC with a victory tonight.

Trevor Lacey is another guy who obviously will be big for the Pack. State is doing a better job of running their offense and getting good looks, but against WVU it’s going to be tougher. They’re not going to be getting a ton of clean looks like they did against Tennessee last time out. They’re going to have to work for their buckets and when things get out of control (and they will with the frantic pressure of the Mountaineers) it’s going to have to be Lacey isolating and scoring.

Anya/Abu – These guys were a great combo against Tennessee and they’re going to be a big part of whatever happens tonight. West Virginia is going to attack inside and Anya and Abu need to be physical enforcers who both protect the rim and own the glass. If the guards can slow down Staten and the Abu and Anya can match the intensity and physicality of their bigs, State has a great shot at this one.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Releases Their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

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16 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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NC State Women’s Basketball team released their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule yesterday.

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women’s basketball program has announced its non-conference slate for the 2024-25 season, as revealed on Thursday.

The Pack will play eight of its 11 games, in addition to a preseason exhibition, at Reynolds Coliseum. Coming off a historical 2023-24 season that was highlighted by the program’s first Final Four since 1998, second in program history, head coach Wes Moore is entering his 12th season at the helm. With a strong home court advantage, the Pack has accumulated a 117-15 (.886) record at home since the renovation of Reynolds Coliseum was completed in August 2016.

NC State will participate in the Pink Flamingo Championship at Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday, Nov. 25 and Wednesday, Nov. 27 against opponents that will be announced at a later date. As previously announced, NC State will play the defending NCAA Champion South Carolina at the Ally Tipoff at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Sunday, Nov. 10, as well as host Ole Miss for the SEC/ACC Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The Wolfpack will host Anderson (S.C.) for an exhibition on Tuesday, Oct. 29 before officially starting the season at home vs. ETSU on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Following the Ally Tipoff, NC State will return home to host Kent State on Thursday, Nov. 14.

NC State’s first true road game of the season is at TCU on Sunday, Nov. 17. The Pack will then play Coastal Carolina at home on Thursday, Nov. 21 before its trip to the Bahamas for two games (Nov. 25-27).

The Pack will close out the non-conference slate with four straight games at Reynolds Coliseum, starting with the SEC/ACC Challenge game vs. Ole Miss (Thursday, Dec. 5). NC State will then host Old Dominion (Sunday, Dec. 8), Davidson (Wednesday, Dec. 11) and James Madison (Thursday, Dec. 19) to wrap up non-conference play.

With NC State’s known non-conference opponents, six are coming off postseason tournament appearances. Three received NCAA Tournament bids (Kent State, Ole Miss and NCAA Champion South Carolina), two were invited to play in the WBIT (TCU and James Madison) and one played in the WNIT (Old Dominion).

NC State’s Atlantic Coast Conference schedule will be announced by the league office at a later date. NC State will play Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt, Virginia and Virginia Tech at home. The Pack will take on Wake Forest, Cal, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, SMU, Stanford and Syracuse on the road.

Season tickets are sold out for the 2024-25 season. Tip-off times and television designations will also be released at a later date.

2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Anderson (Exh.)

Tuesday, Nov. 5 – ETSU

Sunday, Nov. 10 – South Carolina $

Thursday, Nov. 14 – Kent State

Sunday, Nov. 17 – at TCU

Thursday, Nov. 21 – Coastal Carolina

Monday, Nov. 25 – Opponent TBD &

Wednesday, Nov. 27 – Opponent TBD &

Thursday, Dec. 5 – Ole Miss +

Sunday, Dec. 8 – Old Dominion

Wednesday, Dec. 11 – Davidson

Thursday, Dec. 19 – James Madison

$ – Ally Tipoff (Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.)

& – Pink Flamingo Championship (Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas)

+ – SEC/ACC Challenge (Raleigh, N.C.)

 

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NC State Basketball

NC State Legend Julius Hodge Named Head Coach at Lincoln University

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2 days ago

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July 24, 2024

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NC State Legend Julius Hodge has been named the Head Coach at Lincoln University.

This marks Hodge’s first stint as a Head Coach.

Hodge has been in the Coaching world since 2015, when he served as Director of Player Development at the University of Buffalo under Bobby Hurley. Then, he spent 2016 and 2017 as an Assistant Coach under Herb Sendek at Santa Clara. From 2018-20, Hodge served as an Assistant Coach at San Jose State. Hodge has spent the past three seasons as an Assistant Coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

At NC State, Hodge earned 1st Team All-ACC honors in 2003 & 2004, and 2nd Team honors in 2005. Hodge was named the ACC Player of the Year in ’04. He earned the All-Freshman Team in 2002.

Hodge is 1 of 11 players in NC State history to earn 1st Team All-ACC honors more than once.

His 2,040 career points scored rank 3rd in NC State history. Hodge also ranks 1st in Free Throws Made, 14th in Rebounds, 7th in Offensive Rebounds, 6th in Assists and 7th in Steals.

Congrats Julius! You deserve this!

 

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NC State Basketball

WATCH: Getting to Know NC State’s Trey Parker

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4 days ago

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July 23, 2024

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NC State Men’s Basketball is releasing videos helping fans get to know the new players on the 2024-25 roster.

Below is the video of Freshman Trey Parker (6’1″/178), with a transcript underneath.

“My name is Trey Parker. I’m an incoming Freshman from Fayetteville, North Carolina.” 

“I was recently playing at Overtime Elite. It was a great experience. A whole lot of development and great energy.” 

“Coach Levi (Watkins) recruited me. As soon as I got to the campus, it was a great experience. They just gave me that big inspiration to feel like I’m home, and feel like a great student outside of basketball.”

“I knew I wanted to be a part of the Pack back in November of 2022. I just felt like it was a great fit for me.”

“Living in North Carolina, and now playing in North Carolina, is a big opportunity. There’s a lot of people from North Carolina looking up to me, and I want to give them what they want to see.” 

“Being close, allows for them to bring the whole city out. It just feels like I’m already at home.” 

“Y’all stay tuned. Showtime is coming this year.”

_______

Parker originally signed with NC State in November of 2022, as a member of the 2023 recruiting class. He decided to reclassify, making him a member of the 2024 class.

Parker is a consensus 3-Star prospect, though 247Sports’ Composite Rankings have him as a 4-Star prospect. 247 ranks him as the #135 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #26 Shooting Guard, and the #13 player in the state of Georgia.

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NC State Basketball

Jersey Numbers for 2024-25 NC State Men’s Basketball Team Revealed

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1 week ago

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July 18, 2024

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The NC State Men’s Basketball team revealed the Jersey Numbers for their 2024-25 team yesterday.

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Numbers that are Staying the Same

Michael O’Connell – #12

Ben Middlebrooks – #34

Dennis Parker Jr. – #11

KJ Keatts – #13

Jordan Snell – #22

Numbers that have Changed

Jayden Taylor – #1 –> #8

Breon Pass – #10 –> #4

Numbers of New Players

Mike James – #0 (He wore #0 at Louisville last year)

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield – #1 (He wore #5 at Louisville last year)

Paul McNeil – #2 (He wore #2 in High School last year)

Dontrez Styles – #3 (He wore #0 at Georgetown last year)

Trey Parker – #5 (He wore #5 in High School last year)

Marcus Hill – #10 (He wore #0 at Bowling Green last year)

We don’t know what number Ismael Diouf will be wearing at NC State next year yet. 

 

 

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