NC State will need to play with precision on the offensive end as the Tigers boast a strong defensive mindset. Clemson has held opponents under 42% shooting from the field thus far on the season which is tough sledding. To make matters worse for the Pack, the Tigers have done a great job of protecting the three point line; teams have only converted 34% from beyond the arc.
Offensively, Jaron Blossomgame is the unquestioned go to guy. The redshirt junior is averaging 17.5 points per contest and 7.1 rebounds. He is a handful at 6-7, 220 pounds, and has the ability to beat his defender off the bounce. NC State will have its’ hands full to say the least. Blossomgame is at his best when he is going to the rack, he has elite lift and is no stranger to finishing over the top.
After Blossomgame, the Tigers have two players averaging 10 points a piece. Guard Avry Holmes and forward Donte Grantham are both solid complimentary players to Blossomgame. Grantham is a difficult player to gauge as he is 6-8 but loves to settle for jump shots, he is young but seems to be at his best when he attacks the cup early. Neither one of these two are efficient as they are both shooting sub 39% on the season.
NC State is the underdog according to Vegas, but I cannot help but think that State can pull the upset. I expect an ugly game, Clemson doesn’t make their living on the offensive end, they instead dig in defensively and make just enough plays offensively to pull it out. Blossomgame is a great talent and to be honest, the only Tiger player I respect on offense. If State can take away Blossomgame by contesting every shot and keeping him out of the paint they have a shot.
Offensively, the Pack must get into the open court to get easy baskets early in the shot clock. It is no secret they have struggled the longer they have held on to the ball, at this point in the year that is not changing. Cat Barber will look to rebound from a rough outing in Charlottesville this past Monday. State played a great first half, but great first halves followed by tragic second halves do not have a positive effect on the win/loss column. 40 minutes is what it will take come 3PM. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
NC State (4-2) will play their first ACC game of the 2023-24 season tomorrow on the road against Boston College (5-2), and they enter the game as slight underdogs. The Wolfpack are 1.5-point underdogs, and the Total is 150.5.
NC State is 0-2 Straight Up as underdogs
BC is 4-1 Straight Up as favorites.
NC State is 2-4 Against the Spread.
BC is 4-3 Against the Spread
The Total has gone Under in 2 games for NC State, Over in 3 and Pushed in 1.
The Total has gone Under in 3 games for Boston College and Over in 4.
NC State is 6-4 in their last 10 games against BC Straight Up.
NC State is 4–6 Against the Spread in their last 10 games against BC.
The Total has gone Under in 5 games, and Under in the other 5.
The 5th ranked NC State Women’s Basketball team improved to 8-0 tonight, defeating Vanderbilt 70-62 in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.
Notes
Saniya Rivers scored 20+ points for the 2nd time this season, scoring 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting. She also chipped in 8 rebounds and 2 steals.
River Baldwin posted her first double-double of the season. She scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards.
Aziaha James has now scored in double figures in 7 of 8 games, scoring 14 points tonight, shooting 6 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Freshman Zoe Brooks led the Pack in steals (4) and assists (4).
NC State didn’t shoot well, making only 39% of their shots. Fortunately, they held Vandy to 34.3% shooting.
The Wolfpack will host Illinois State on Sunday at 2pm.
This Saturday, NC State heads to Boston College for the now-annual early ACC opener. The Pack will face off against the Eagles at 4pm on ACC Network. Here is where the team is statistically after 6 games.
Casey Morsell leads NC State in scoring with 14.5 ppg.
The Pack has 4 double-digit scorers this season. Morsell (14.5), Jayden Taylor (13.3), DJ Burns (13) and DJ Horne (11.2) (Last season State had 4 double-digit scorers as well. Terquavion (17.9), Joiner (17), Burns (12.5) and Morsell (11.8))
After their top 4 scorers there is a big dip. Parker comes in at 6.8, O’Connell at 6.3, and Middlebrooks at 5.5 ppg. (Last season Jack Clark was 5th on the team in scoring at 9 points and Mahorcic was at 8.7. However, both guys missed a large chunk of the season.)
Burns is leading NC State in rebounding this year at 5.3 per game. Diarra is next with 5.3 (but is currently hampered by an ankle injury.)
O’Connell is leading NC State in assists with 3.3 per game, and Burns is up next with 2.5. PG DJ Horne is only averaging 2.
LJ Thomas and Mike O’Connell are tied in leading the team at .15 assists per minute.
Jayden Taylor is leading NC State in 3pt %, shooting an outstanding 45.8%, while Morsell is up next at 34.6%. Horne is close behind at 33%. (LJ Thomas is shooting 50% from 3, but only has 2 attempts.)
Burns is leading the bigs, shooting 56.5% from the floor, while Middlebrooks is close behind at 54.2%. Dennis Parker Jr is coming in at 45.2%.
For the guards, it’s Casey Morsell leading the way at 44.6% from the floor, while O’Connell is next up at 43.4%. Taylor is shooting 42.4%, and DJ Horne is struggling a bit, shooting just 34.8% from the field.
Jayden Taylor is turning the ball over the most at 1.8 times per game, while Burns is next at 1.7. Morsell is at 1.5 and O’Connell is at 1.2. DJ Horne has been doing a good job of protecting the basketball, turning it over just .3 times per game.
NC State’s Men’s Basketball team lost it’s second straight game tonight, losing 52-72 on the road at Ole Miss in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. Below is the Box Score with some notes below.
Notes
Ben Middlebrooks posted a double-double, with 13 points and 12 boards. To be honest, Middlebrooks was the only bright spot in this game.
Casey Morsell was the only other player to score in double figures (12 points), but it wasn’t pretty, shooting 5 of 14 from the field.
One of the poorest statistical shooting performance I can remember.
NC State shot 31.8% from the field and 12% from three (3-25).
The Wolfpack’s DNA on defense is turning over their opponent, and they were unable to do so tonight, turning over the Rebels only 7 times.
For comparison, the Wolfpack turned it over 13 times, giving them a Turnover Margin tonight of -6.
Heading into tonight, they averaged a Turnover Margin of +7.8.
Ole Miss scored 13 points off of turnovers, compared to NC State’s 4.
This is the first time this season that NC State failed to force their opponent to commit at least 10 turovers.
NC State was -25 when D.J. Burns was on the court, which was the worst on the team.
NC State was +3 when L.J. Thomas was on the court, and +2 when Ben Middlebrooks were on the court. They were the only two players in the positive.
Thomas and Middlebrooks should have earned themselves some more playing time going forward.
Ole Miss’ length was problematic for the Wolfpack, blocking 9 of their shots.
There will be more analysis on this game coming tomorrow.