NC State Schedule Breakdown: December

Continuing on with our series that previews each month of the Men’s Basketball season, lets take a look at December.  NC State will play a total of 7 game in the month of December.

The schedule (7 games 5 at home) 

• Michigan 12/01/15 @ PNC 7PM
• Bucknell 12/05/15 @ PNC
• South Florida 12/13/15 Tampa, FL 4PM
• High Point 12/16/15 @ PNC
• Missouri 12/19/15 Columbia, MO
• UNCG 12/22/15 @ PNC
• Northeastern 12/29/15 @ PNC

What to watch for: 

NC State kicks off December when Michigan comes to the PNC Arena for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on December 1st.  The last time the Pack faced Michigan was in 2012 in Ann Arbor when the Wolverines were ranked #3 in the country.  NC State lost that game by a score of 79-72.  A lot has changed since then, with the Wolverines suffering one of their worst seasons under Coach Beilein, stumbling to a 16-16 record last year.  Records aside there is little doubt that Michigan will be well coached and poised to bounce back this season.

Bucknell will also provide a test for the Pack, as they return all 5 postseason starters and 5 of their top 6 scorers from a season ago, when they captured the Patriot League title, their fourth in the past five years.  As for the rest of the schedule Missouri should be a good road test for the Pack.  The Tigers will look to rebound from an awful 2014-2015 season, when they finished with a 9-23 record in Coach Anderson’s first season at the helm.

The other big game to look out for is the rematch in Tampa versus USF.  This should be a nice rematch, after the thrilling game a season ago when the Pack squeaked by the Bulls 68-65 in PNC.  Chris Perry returns for the Bulls and will look for revenge. The last time NC State played at USF was in the NIT in the 2009-2010 season.  The Pack reined supreme behind Dennis Horner’s 25 points.

Most Intriguing: 

Can the Pack have a perfect 7-0 month?  NC State has had an issue of inexplicably losing a game that should be an easy win.  Last December was extremely pedestrian, as the Pack went 4-4.  The Wolfpack lost to Wofford and Cincinnati at home.  Both games were poor performances that set the Pack back and caused them to lose an opportunity of gaining a higher seed in the NCAA tournament.  As I look at the schedule I will be most interested in how NC State plays against Bucknell after the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.  These are the type of games they have struggled in.  After big stage games, NC State has a tendency to come out flat and allow a team who should not beat them to win or give them a stressful game.

As far as individual match-ups, it should be a great showdown between Cat Barber and Derrick Walton Jr. in the Michigan game.  Both players hail from the 2013 recruiting class.  Cat was the #7 point guard in that class with Walton on his heels at #8.  Last season Cat enjoyed a breakout season in his sophomore campaign, but Walton was hampered by injury.  Walton suffered a toe injury and tried to grind it out before the medical staff decided to sit him for the final 12 games of the season.  Look for a great duel between both Barber and Walton as both point guards like to use their quickness and speed to attack the paint.

Summary: 

NC State kicks off December with a bang as they represent the ACC in the ACC/Big TenChallenge, but after that the quality of opponent drops off.  Sure there will be great tests as the Pack must face an experienced Bucknell team, and they have to travel to USF to face Chris Perry.  However, NC State should be able to make it through without a blemish.  This will require focus and energy each and every night to accomplish this.  The Wolfpack will need to build momentum before they head into ACC play in January.