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:
#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette tomorrow night in the Sweet 16. What would a win mean for the Wolfpack? Many things, but here’s just a few:
It would give NC State 25 wins on the year (25-14), which would be the most wins since 1982-83, when the Wolfpack went 26-10, winning the National Championship.
It would mark the 12th time in school history that NC State has won 25+ games in a single season.
1982-83 – 26-10
1973-74 – 30-1
1972-73 – 27-0
1954-55 – 28-4
1953-54 – 26-7
1952-53 – 26-6
1950-51 – 30-7
1949-50 – 27-6
1948-49 – 25-8
1947-48 – 29-3
1946-47- 26-5
It would be the 7th time NC State has advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.
NC State is 1 of 4 schools to have their Men and Women’s Basketball teams BOTH advance to the Sweet 16, along with Duke, Gonzaga and UCONN.
NC State and Duke are the only two schools in the country to send both Basketball teams to the Sweet 16, and also send the Football team to a bowl game.
This marks only the third time in school history that BOTH teams made the Sweet 16.
Years NC State’s Men & Women’s Teams Made the Sweet 16
1985
1989
2024
Despite the fact that the Men’s team has made the Elite 8 six times (1950, 1951, 1974, 1983, 1985, 1986), and the Women have made it 2 times (1998 & 2022), in the three occasions they both went to the Sweet 16 in the same year, neither team advanced to the Elite 8.
#3 seed NC State held on last night, defeating #6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Reynolds Coliseum to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 5th time in the last 6 tournaments.
The Wolfpack led by only 1 after the 1st Quarter, but they looked like they had things under control at halftime, leading by 18 points.
At one point, NC State led by as much as 20 points in the 3rd Quarter, but the Lady Volunteers weren’t about to give up.
With 4:19 left in the 4th, Tennessee cut the lead to 2 points, but NC State might have bent, but they wouldn’t break.
Junior Guard Aziaha James led the way with 22 points and 7 assists, which were both team highs. She scored 7 points in the final 3.5 minutes, helping to squash tue Last Vols’ comeback attempt.
Junior Guard Saniya Rivers had 20 points (6-14 FG) and 6 boards.
Freshman Zoe Brooks was clutch off the bench, chipping in 16 points and 6 boards.
This marks the 16th time the NC State Women’s Basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Wolfpack will play #2 seed Stanford on Friday night at 7:30pm on ESPN in Portland.
Finally playing Cody. What took so long for Gott to realize his abilities? Player evaluation is not a strong suit for Gott.
What the hell is happening? They look like a team for a change. Pass the ball, more assists, less dribbling.