NC State heads northward to face the Pittsburgh Panthers, the start of what NC State hopes will be a season changing week.

The Pathers are ranked 20th according to USA Today and are coming off a 23 point win over Boston College. Last season Pitt under-achieved, but thus far they only have two losses on the season (both to ranked opponents.) Here are the keys to the game.

STOP YOUNG INSIDE
Michael Young leads Pitt at 17.2 points per game and adds 6.8 rebounds per contest. The 6-9 junior is capable of dismantling a team inside. It will be up to BeeJay Anya to stop Young. Anya needs to step up and play with a little more urgency and energy, especially on the defensive end. Kennedy Meeks had his way with the junior big this past weekend. Meeks scored 23 points and was a deciding factor in UNC’s win over the Pack.

GET CAT GOING
A number NC State players had success versus Pittsburgh a season ago, most notably Cat Barber, who had a career night against the Panthers in the ACC tourney. Cat should be able to get to any spot he wants on the court with James Robinson guarding him. The Pitt guard is a little slow footed, however he is crafty and will likely be prepared with a plan.

Defense, Defense, Defense
Mark Gottfried hopes that his team will replicate some of the good things they did aginst the Tarheels tonight, mainly on the defensive end. If State can build upon their performance of stopping the trio of Paige, Johnson, and Jackson, then they should start to make strides as a team. Part of reason State’s defense was improved was the extended minutes of Cody Martin. He was able to really lock down on Paige at times and made Carolina attack from the inside. State has size in there, but needs to be better about staying out of foul trouble and making opposing bigs catch the ball outside of the paint.

LIMIT TOs
One thing that cannot carry over from the UNC game is turnovers. State has been pretty good at keeping the turnover bug at bay, and that starts and stops with Cat Barber at the point. So much of the responsibility of taking care of the basketball is on Cat’s shoulders. Look for him to bounce back tonight as he will take care of the basketball against a backcourt that isn’t quite a fast and won’t be able to apply as much pressure..

Another thing to watch for is how minutes are used tonight between Cody, Caleb, and Maverick. Last game Cody Martin earned the start, does that continue tonight? Hopefully it does as the Pack looked more balanced on offense and allowed Cat less responsibility on the defensive end.

Game time is slated for 8 o’clock, and can be seen on ACCN.

Check out NC State’s YouTube channel’s preview below: