NC State Push Past Hokies 69-53

Ralston Turner found his shot from distance as he led the team with 18 points while shooting 4-8 from three point land. NC State finally had a relatively stress free game at PNC Arena, which has seen some real nail bitters this season. The keys to this game was always on the Pack’s shoulders as they were by far the more talented and established team. We had to be focused both defensively and offensively in order to come away with the victory. Although the team played well there were a handful of moments that the team looked dead on defense. To close out the first half State allowed Justin Bibbs to get clean looks, which he did not waste. Fortunately for the Pack Bibbs 19 points were not enough for the Hokies as he didn’t have much help on the night.

I was impressed with NC State’s help side defense. VT does not have any threat on the block; however, they are quick and use a 5 out offense that generates lots of cuts and movement. On a number of occasions I was pleased to hear our guys communicating with one another to help navigate through all of the screens and backdoor cuts. Trevor Lacey was excellent on defense in my opinion as he took away passing lanes that helped prevent a couple of sure layups with his ball pressure. BeeJay Anya officially registered 3 blocks on the night, but he altered many more shots. He was also much improved in pick and role defense. He hedged the ball well and didn’t give any clean looks to the guard looking to shoot the three pointer. This is a sign of improvement and shows that BeeJay is working hard to become more than just a shot blocker.

Offensively our guys moved the ball well and were able to use our size to overmatch the Hokies. Not only did our length help down low, but our guards were able to get clean looks on the perimeter. Ralston looked great tonight. His movements were much more fluid than previous games. I also noticed that he was not wearing a heavy wrap on his knee, the light schedule has been beneficial for Turner. One of the surprises on the night was the fact that Kyle Washington didn’t play a single minute. This is his first DNP on the season. I am not sure we should read too much into this decision by Gottfried, but I think it speaks volumes about the depth that we have in the front court. Anya, Freeman, and Abu played well and consistently play within themselves. Kyle sometimes has a tendency to play outside of the team given his aggressive nature on the offensive end. As he learns to play within his strengths I am confident that he will gain some of his minutes back. Most importantly for this team is to play to our strengths and not do too much. The beauty of our team is that we have a number of guys that compliment each other and when we play together we are capable of beating any team in the country. We must stick to the script!

This was a good win but lets be honest Virginia Tech is not very good. State must put this win behind them and get ready for a step up in class as they take the short trip to Chapel Hill this Tuesday. UNC looked solid today as they dismantled Georgia Tech winning by 29 points. NC State must come ready to play. Tip-off is slated for 8PM and can be seen on ACCN/Raycom.