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GAMEDAY: 3 Keys to Beating 1 Seeded Villanova

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9 years ago

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Tonight NC State plays the biggest game of their season as they take on #1 seeded Villanova in the round of 32. For many teams this would be the toughest game they’ve played all season, but not the Wolfpack. With the ACC so strong this season State has faced both Duke and Virginia twice, two teams who are arguably better than Villanova this season. So it’s not like State is going to come out and just be overwhelmed by talent, however Nova poses a threat that is a little unique. This is a team that has dominant guards. A team that has shoots the ball very well and is completely unselfish. They are a tough matchup, but actually are kind of similar to State. Here are our keys to the Wolfpack pulling off the upset.

Handle Their Guards
This is really the biggest thing. Nova relies Dylan Ennis, Darrun Hilliard, and Ryan Arcidiacono. Ennis is the guy that creates. He’s a steady PG who is their true defensive stopper. He will certainly guard Lacey and at 6’2 could really bother him. Hilliard is the scorer. He’s averaging 14ppg and can score in a variety of ways. The 6’6 senior is certainly going to be a tough guard for NC State. He can shoot is over top and he can use his size to take to the rim. Stopping Hilliard needs to be priority for Gottfried and company. After that you have Arcidiacono. He’s averaging 10ppg and 4 boards. He too is shooting around 38% and can really heat up of he gets going. Those 3 guys are a handful, but that’s not all their guards. Aside form these main three you have sixth man Josh Hart. Hart is another one of these giant guards. He’s 6’5 and is also averaging 10ppg. He doesn’t shoot a ton of 3s, but he’ll light you up if you don’t watch out. He’s hitting 47% from outside.

So as you see this is a team of big guards that can all shoot, pass and attack the rim. They are good, but State has some pretty good guards themselves. One thing Lacey and Turner will have to do is keep the Nova backcourt out of the lane. Ralston has had trouble keeping guys in front of him and if that happens here you might see a little more of the Martins in this one.

On offense State is going to have to move the basketball. So often State is trying to go one on one and isolate Lacey. Nova is too big for Lacey to do that and their length is going to make it hard for Turner to get clean looks. One guy that could have  huge game is Cat Barber. The uber-quick PG is a mismatch for Nova, who really doesn’t have anyone to match his speed. He’ll need to get into the lane and create havoc if  State wants a chance to win this.

Win the Front Court Battle
This is where State COULD surprise some people. Nova has the experienced bigs in Pinkston and Ochefu, but State’s bigs might be turning the corner right at the right time. Abu is becoming a go-to guy in the post with his athleticism and physicality and you better believe Anya is feeling real confident after his game winner. But an x-factor here is Kyle Washington. The sophomore finally got back in the swing of things last game and gave the Pack a boost they sorely needed. This team really need Kyle’s intensity, hustle and ability to bring their bigs out of paint with this jumpers. He adds a different dimension to the Wolfpack and if he has a big night, Nova may not have an answer.

Play With Fire
The Pack can’t come out lackadaisical like they did against LSU. They’ve played well as world beaters this season, so there is a good chance they’ll come out hyped. They need to be in passing lanes, locking down on the ball, rotating quick on help-side D and closing out on shooters under control. If they can play smart and play with some conviction then the Pack has a real chance to shock the world.

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

Hard to believe that Lacey/Turner went a combined 8 for 29 and 6 for 18 and we still win those 2 games? One of the keys to this game was rebounding. We out rebounded Nova 49 to 32. Abu and Freeman dominated the boards. 22 rebounds between them. We owned the paint on offense and defense.

It was a hell of an effort and one of the best games this team has played all season. Gottfried, just when I thought you couldn’t possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this… and totally redeem yourself!

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

OMG. This team has finally come together. Talk about the right time to bring it all together. The defense was tight, offense was balanced inside/out, and we played aggressive for 40 minutes. 

Abu is the man!

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

We shot as poorly as a team can shoot in the LSU game. Now that we got our bad game out of the way maybe we’ll come out shooting lights out today.

We’ll need to if we want to win against the 1 seed.

Go Pack!

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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24 hours ago

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April 24, 2024

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NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

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Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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2 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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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.

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.

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

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill is on a Visit to NC State

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3 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.

Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.

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NC State Basketball

What did an ACC Title & Final Four Mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.?

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3 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.? The man who won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 gave me a statement.

It means a lot. It means a lot to the university, the state of North Carolina and a lot more to my dad, grandma, and myself. They have been NC State fans since forever, so their excitement level was though the roof when they saw BOTH of our basketball teams shining like that. It was a great feeling!

2017 was Smith Jr.’s only year of College ball, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors, and obviously, he earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

DSJ was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Smith Jr. just wrapped up his 7th season in the NBA. This was his 1st season with Brooklyn, playing in 56 games for the Nets. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, averaging 18.9 minutes per contest.

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