Connect with us

NC State travels to Louisville to try and gain back to back road wins aginst ranked opponents. Game time is Sunday at 1 o’clock with coverage on the ACC Network. What do you need to know about Louisville before tipoff?

Louisville’s defense is relentless at applying pressure.

Rick Pitino likes to force teams into turnovers by having his team press full court from start to finish. They use this tactic to speed their opponents up, forcing them to turn the ball over. Louisville is plus 3.3 in turnover margin thus far. Another characteristic of the Cards defense is rim protection. Louisville averages 6.2 BPG which ranks 6th in the NCAA. The Cards ability to erase and alter shots allows them to be aggressive on the perimeter. 62.2 PPG is all opponents are averaging when playing aginst Louisville.

The Cards are 4-1 in their last five games.

Despite injuries to Quentin Snider and most recently Tony Hicks Louisville has held things together. Their lone loss was a five-point defeat at FSU. Rick Pitino has used his team’s depth and do it all guard Donovan Mitchell to keep them on track. Last game Mitchell had a big game scoring 29 points on 9-13 shooting. He also knocked down 6-8 three-pointers.

Rebounding is a strength for the Cards.

Rick Pitino’s team excel at effort statistics. This season they are averaging 41.8 RPG good enough to be ranked 5th in the NCAA. Team’s struggle to keep pace with the Cards on the glass as Louisville sports a plus 7.3 rebounding margin on the season. The Cards find extra possessions because they attack the offensive glass averaging 14 offensive rebounds per game. Opposing teams are forced to execute and shoot high percentages to beat the Cards as they cut off second chance points. In two of their three ACC losses, they have lost the rebounding battle.

Louisville is having a solid season as they are 17-4, 5-3 in ACC play. Rick Pitino’s teams play hard and excel at outworking teams. They fight hard defensively and are as tough as any team on the glass. Adversity has struck this team as they have had to play without leader Quentin Snider; however, each player has stepped up to keep winning. Offensively Louisville likes to play fast as they use their defensive pressure to force quick offense. Out rebounding and creating turnovers are a great recipe for winning and Louisville is great at both. They will try and force their style of play on NC State in hopes they can create lots of turnovers and easy baskets. Game time is Sunday at 1 o’clock with coverage on The ACC Network.

Related Topics:
3 Comments
Subscribe
Notify of
3 Comments
newest
oldest most Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
RizDolla
RizDolla
6 years ago

I haven’t posted in awhile because there really isn’t a reason to. But I do want to ask Packinsider this. Is this comedy show (like the rest of the games) still the players fault, lack of leadership on the court etc etc. Or is Mark just a bad coach and not ACC ready? Lets be honest.. If you have in past post I apologize I haven’t been back to your site in awhile.

0
RizDolla
RizDolla
6 years ago
Reply to  RizDolla

List of ACC coaches Mike K. , Roy W., Rick Pitino, Jim Boeheim, Jim Larrañaga, Leonard Hamilton, Danny Manning,Mike Brey, Tony Bennett (Va.) just in case you didn’t know and this is to name a few. We lost to other programs with less “notable” coaches if Im not mistaken. If we want to win be able to compete and not lose players. FIRE GOTT HE GOTT TO GO. This will be my last post waste of time!

0
Tyler White
Tyler White
6 years ago
Reply to  RizDolla

@rizdolla I think it is a combination of a lot of factors. There is no consistency across the board. The players haven’t played with the needed energy and focus on getting stops. Offensively there is not much movement at all which can be attributed to the scheme. Defensively they are dead last giving up 84.4 PPG any team will struggle to win allowing 84.4 points a game.

0

NC State Basketball

D.J. Burns is OFFICIALLY BACK!

Published

1 month ago

on

April 27, 2023

By

Well, it’s OFFICIAL. D.J Burns will be returning to NC State for his final year of collegiate eligibility!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by DJ Burns / BIG 30♨️ (@dj.b30)

This confirms everything I’d been hearing about the return of Burns. Burns was the key to the Wolfpack offense running effectively this past year. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 2022-23, but he elevated his game in ACC play, averaging 16.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in conference games.

Burns is celebrating his return to run with the Wolfpack by dropping his own Big 30 merch. Go over and snag something.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Isaiah Miranda is an Early Entry Candidate for the 2023 NBA Draft

Published

1 month ago

on

April 26, 2023

By

The NBA released the names of the 242 players that have filed as early entry candidates for NBA Draft 2023 last night, and NC State’s Isaiah Miranda’s name was on the list.

Miranda (7’1″/225) joined the Wolfpack back in December, deciding to forgo the remainder of his prep season. Miranda didn’t see the court for NC State, resulting in a redshirt season.

ON3 ranked Miranda as the #16 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.

It makes perfect sense for a player like Miranda, with his height and athleticism, to go through the draft process to be evaluated on what he needs to continue to work on. As an early entrant, Miranda has the ability to pull his name out of the draft and remain a collegiate athlete.

I don’t expect Miranda to keep his name in the hat when the time comes. From what I hear his game has tons of potential, but he still needs to fine tune his craft. Also, Miranda shared this on social media, implying he will be back in the Red and White next year.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra Commits to NC State

Published

1 month ago

on

April 24, 2023

By

NC State picked up their 5th transfer today. Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) committed to run with the Wolfpack today while in Raleigh on an Official Visit.

Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.

In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

With news breaking today that Dusan Mahorcic entered the Transfer Portal, the Wolfpack found his replacement. NC State’s frontcourt in 2023-24 currently will be made up of D.J. Burns, Ben Middlebrooks, Mohamed Diarra and Ernest Ross.

Check out these highlights of Diarra.

There is a lot to like in Diarra’s game. He is athletic, can hit a jump shot, put the ball on the floor, can play defense on the perimeter, block shots, and is an aggressive rebounder.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra is On an Official Visit to NC State Today

Published

1 month ago

on

April 24, 2023

By

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) is on an Official Visit to NC State today. Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.

In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Diarra entered the Transfer Portal on March 28th.

Continue Reading