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NC State had a tall task in shutting down the sure-bet NBA lottery pick Ben Simmons and beating #22 LSU.

It looked like a nightmare matchup for the Pack, but Gottfried was ready and hatched a plan that helped his NC State Wolfpack upset the #22 LSU Tigers 83-72 in OT.

State decided to pack the lane and really make LSU beat them from outside. They literally allowed nearly wide open looks from the beyond the arc instead of letting Simmons go one-on-one to the rim.

While this did give the LSU guards a lot of open 3s, it also negated Simmons ability to get inside and create havoc with his ability to score and his NBA level passing. When Simmons did drive, he had 2 or 3 black jersey’s swarming him at all times. He’d kick to the corner to Tim Quarterman or Antonio Blakeney, only the two starting guards shot a pedestrian 6-18 from beyond the arc. When they missed, it was the Wolfpack who was there to clean up on the glass (winning that battle 54-41).

With LSU struggling to find a rhythm on offense, the Pack had to figure out how they were going to put points on the board. As they have all season, Caleb Martin and Cat Barber took the lead. Martin, finished with 16 points and Barber with 20.
Caleb hit 4-10 3’s and Barber was 12 of 12 from the FT line, but overall the duo only hit 10-30 from the field. The slack was picked up by Malik Abu and Cody Martin, both of whom filled the box score and had the best games of their young seasons.

Abu finished with 15 points and 12 boards while Cody Martin came up huge in the second half, finishing with 14 points, 10 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals.

After a crazy finish that saw an ‘And 1’ layup by Abu taken away due to a show clock violation and a big missed FT by Simmons, the game went to OT.
Abut started things off with a layup and then Cody Martin made a smart move by attacking Simmons off the dribble. Simmons reached in and with that, was charged with his 5th foul.
Once Simmons hit the bench, NC State was able to extend their defense, challenge more shots and really get out on the break.. After the dust cleared it was NC State with the upset win, 83-72 over the #22 ranked LSU Tigers.

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wolfpack74
wolfpack74
8 years ago

Ask Gott why he forced Kyle to transfer?

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TravelWolf
TravelWolf
8 years ago

It was an interesting game. We could have easily lost it as won it. Rowan was indispensable – amazing as a freshman. This guy is good… It’s hard to explain, but sometimes I thought we played like an NBA team – good spacing, crisp passes without much dribbling often, good screens, and we did an excellent job running through the high-post options. If Abu can consistently nail down the 15-17 foot shot at the line, that we be a big boost to the offense. I just hope everyone stays healthy b/c it’s obvious that we barely have enough bodies. Oh,… Read more »

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is Currently Visiting NC State

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2 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is on a visit to NC State currently, according to a source.

Indiana State Transfer Ryan Conwell was on campus last week, but he just committed to Xavier.

From what I hear, the staff preferred James over Connell anyway. A plus with James is he has 2 years of eligibility, whereas Conwell has 1.

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.

Rivals ranked James as the #71 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, and ESPN ranked him as the #7 prospect in the state of Florida.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years. This year, he averaged 12.6 points and 5 rebounds.

For a more extensive look at James’ game, click here.

Rivals ranks James as the #77 overall player in the Transfer Portal.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is a Priority for NC State

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6 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.

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.

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.

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

NC State already hosted Indiana State Transfer Guard Ryan Conwell last week, and while the Wolfpack coaches like both players, from what I’m hearing, James would be their preference.

NC State hasn’t had James in for a visit, but that could happen soon.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Casey Morsell is the 4th Player in NCAA History to Start 41 Games in a Season

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12 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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NC State Guard Casey Morsell started 41 games for the Wolfpack this season, becoming the 4th player in NCAA history to do so.

 

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A post shared by NC State Basketball (@packmensbball)

Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.

Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.

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NC State Basketball

Georgetown Transfer Dontrez Styles Commits to NC State!

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22 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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Georgetown Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles (6’6″/212) has committed to NC State!

Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.

Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.

After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.

ON3 ranks Styles as the #104 overall player in the Portal.

With his final year of eligibility, Styles’ made the right choice this time.

NC State now has 2 scholarships remaining after Styles’ commitment.

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