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NC State takes on Louisville Sunday at 1 o’clock with coverage on the ACC Network. Louisville has been tough to beat at home with an 11-1 record. What are the keys to the game for NC State to gain another big ACC road victory?

The Pack must handle Louisville’s full-court press with patience and look to attack.

The Cardinals are among the best defensive teams in the country as they look to force teams out of their comfort zone with full-court hard-nosed defense. NC State will need to attack the press looking to score at the rim. Ball fakes can be helpful in beating a press because defenders gamble to make steals to create turnovers. The Wolfpack must capitalize when Louisville over commits on defense by attacking the rim. NC State needs a team effort to beat the pressure and cannot just look to Smith to do it all. The Pack’s chances of beating Louisville will come down to their ability to handle the press; if they control turnovers and attack they have an opportunity notch another road win.

Rebounds will be a huge factor for NC State if they are going to win.

Louisville is one of the premier rebounding teams in the NCAA. They average 41.8 RPG and are plus 7.3 in rebounding margin. NC State has got to find a way to compete on the glass if they are going to upset the Cards at home. It will be interesting to see if the pairing of Malik Abu and Ted Kapita can yield another strong effort as it did aginst Duke. Ted Kapita is willing to do all the dirty work underneath and that will be needed to combat Louisville’s length. NC State has to limit Louisville on the offensive glass to prevent easy second chance baskets. The Pack will need to be physical by putting a body on a player at all times because the Cardinals are too long and athletic to out jump.

Defensively NC State will need to force Donovan Mitchell into contested jump shots.

Dennis Smith will have the challenge of stopping Mitchell as Gottfried has used him to defend opposing teams best players. Mitchell is best at getting into the lane and finishing near the rim; however, he is less efficient shooting off the bounce. Smith needs to be physical with Mitchell taking away dribble penetration forcing him into contested two-pointers. With second-leading scorer, Quentin Snider out due to injury the Cards has relied heavily on Mitchell. NC State can cause Louisville to struggle offensively if they take away Mitchell.

NC State has a great opportunity to improve their resume for the NCAA tournament by beating another ranked foe on the road. The Pack must have toughness and desire to win. Malik Abu’s cannot get into foul trouble because NC State needs his rebounding and scoring. The Pack will need everyone pulling in the same direction to knock off a tough Louisville team at home. Game time is Sunday at 1 o’clock with coverage on The ACC Network.

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Ballerman4452
Ballerman4452
6 years ago

Here’s some things I’ve noticed.

1. Lack of leadership: Dennis smith has done his best, but realistically you can only expect so much from an 18 year old freshman.
2. Torin Dorn’s Devolution: This one is partially not Dorn’s fault as his minutes have fallen drastically since Yurtseven and rowan were inserted in the mix, even getting a season low of 9 minutes in the Pittsburgh game.

Ballerman4452
Ballerman4452
6 years ago
Reply to  Ballerman4452

Continued from above.

3. Yurtseven (unfortunately) being overrated: This is not saying he’s bad, not by any means. But his transition from the European style of play has been more turbulent than we as fans envisioned.
4. Strength of Acc : This may sound like a cop-out, but the ACC is slowly becoming like the NBA in the sense that if your team has a bad night, standings go out the door.

RizDolla
RizDolla
6 years ago

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!

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.

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!

NC State Basketball

D.J. Burns is OFFICIALLY BACK!

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

 

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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.

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NC State Basketball

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

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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.

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NC State Basketball

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra Commits to NC State

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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.

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NC State Basketball

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

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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.

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