NC State Basketball
Wolfpack Ready for Showdown with #16 Louisville
NC State is getting ready for a big time matchup with #16 Louisville tonight at 7pm on ESPN2. A win for the Wolfpack means their second toppling of a ranked opponent. A loss would mean they fall to 0-2 in the ACC with some tough match-ups right around the corner.
Louisville is a very good team, but they are young. They have dropped the only two games they’ve played to ranked opponents but it wasn’t by much. They lost to #12 Kentucky by 2 and dropped a close one against #3 Michigan State by only 4.
Last season State split games with the Cardinals. In their first matchup, the Pack used a 21 point effort from Barber to beat them by 9. This was a game where Lacey struggled to find his shot, but Barber exploded. Cat decimated the Cardinals defense. Got into the teeth and really took control of the basketball game.
The second matchup was much different. It was a sweet 16 matchup, a week after the Pack had upended #1 seed Villanova. In this one Barber was not nearly as effective. He finished 3-14 shooting and the Pack fell by 10.
Players to Watch:
Cat Barber
Obviously, as we pointed out above, Barber is going to make or break this game. He needs to have a big night and really disrupt the Louisville defense. Cat’s ability to get in the lane and score or open up options for his teammates will be key. He’s averaging 23 ppg right now and seems to have really hit his stride. Now he just needs his teammates to pick up some slack. A big game from Cat could mean a big win for the Pack.
Damien Lee (6’6 G/F, Louisville)
Lee is a 6’6 wing who has been Pitino’s leading scorer this season. His ability to score inside or out makes him a really tough cover. Luckily State has Cody Martin who has been their best defender to this point. Cody stands at 6’6 as well, so while most teams might not have an answer for Lee, State might. Either way, Lee is going to force the issue and attempt to put up big numbers in Raleigh.
Mav Rowan / Caleb Martin
State really, really needs these two guys to get going. With Terry Henderson’s injury seeming like it will have him out longer than expected, these are the two guys Gott is relying on. Rowan and Martin are State’s two best shooters, but lately they haven’t been hitting consistently. Rowan has been a roller coaster. He had a 6-12 shooting night where he dropped 16 points and looked great, but that was sandwiched between a 1-10 night and a 1-8 night. For Caleb, it’s been similar. He did score 14 last time out, but it was on 4-17 shooting and 3-13 from beyond the arc. That is coming on the heels of 4 games where he’s gone 8-32 including 4-18 from beyond the arc. Gottfried needs to really reign these two in. They are both really good shooters who are taking way too many wild, off-balance shots. If they can pick and choose their spots and make sure they’re taking quality shots, then they are exactly what the Pack is going to need tonight.
Donovan Mitchell
He might only be averaging 8ppg, but he sure looked good against Wake Forest last week (18 points). He’s a freshman guard who is very elusive and super strong, allowing him to attack off the bounce with ease. Was that Wake game his coming out party or was it just a blip on the radar? Either way, State needs to make sure he doesn’t get hot.
Well we shoot 36% and Louisville shoots 50% we are lucky to have stayed in the game. The fact is this team is not that good. Going to be s long year.