Game Notes: Pack Smothers Bulls 65-46

BeeJay Anya Career Night…

Anya scored a career high at the Sun Dome, pouring in 17 points on 7-8 shooting. Beejay also added 7 boards and 5 blocks to cap off his career game. On a night where Caleb Martin and Maverick Rowan went a combined 2-20 from the field, Anya stepped up his offensive game. It was great to see BeeJay display patience on the block and see him work hard to catch the ball deep inside the paint. USF was not void of size as they had a couple of 6’11” guys roaming underneath, but Anya used his size to overpower the Bulls. The junior big has to continue to assert himself on the offensive end and today was a another step in the right direction.

NC State ups the pressure and forces Bulls into terrible game offensively…

USF had 14 turnovers on the day and NC State stuck to the scouting report as they kept the Bulls out of the paint, Cat Barber did a wonderful job at keeping McMurray on the perimeter. It was a total team effort as they held the Bulls to 29% shooting from the field and forced them into taking bad shot after bad shot. One area of improvement for the Pack was their help side defense. USF did not have any real threat from beyond the arc, which aided the Pack as they sold out on the edge to help at every opportunity.  This action really helped State seal off the inside.

The more NC State packed it in, the more USF coughed it up and missed tough contested shots. Coach Gottfried will want to see more improvement on the defensive side of the ball as his team attempt to gain ground against good shooting teams, but this was a start. USF still did have some decent looks from distance, but didn’t have the personal to capitalize.

51 team rebounds and 22 offensive rebounds helped NC State overcome poor shooting night… 

Malik Abu was a monster on the glass hauling in 14 rebounds as he went to the boards all day. This is the type of effort Gottfried needs from Malik. He was aggressive and used his motor to relentlessly pursue the ball. Not only did Abu attack the glass, but so did Barber, Anya, and Freeman. Each of these guys had 7 or more rebounds which helped NC State recover from a sub 40% shooting day. The Wolfpack out-rebounded the Bulls 51-41, good enough for a +10 margin. Moving forward, Coach Gottfried will look for this type of effort each game.

Summary…

A sub-par offensive showing from the 2 guards lead way for NC State’s big men to pick up the slack. Luckily for Gottfried, the big men and defense was up for the task. They held the Bulls to 29% shooting and reined in errand shots for easy put backs. A definite positive was  Abu posting a double-double and BeeJay Anya scoring a career high. Cat Barber attacked with a purpose and played great defense for NC State. He added 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

On Wednesday night NC State must be prepared for High Point as they were projected to finish ahead of Winthrop in the SoCon. The Panthers will arrive in Raleigh with an 8-2 record and are paced by redshirt senior John Brown. The 6-8 big man is averaging 20.6 points per and will be looking to lead his team on an upset at the PNC.