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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

NC State’s Win Against Boston College: BY THE NUMBERS

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NC State started their 2023-24 ACC slate with a 84-78 win over Boston College. Her’s a look at the victory BY THE NUMBERS.

Let’s start with team numbers.

NC State won in 3 of the 4 Factors, which is a good recipe for a victory. All 4 factors matter, but they are ranked in level of importance from left to right. Obviously, shooting the ball better than your team is of the utmost importance, which NC State did. In a category the Wolfpack normally excels in, they lost the turnover battle in Chestnut Hill. Turnover Percentage was the only Factor that NC State wasn’t superior in. They also grabbed a higher percentage of possible offensive rebounds, and clearly won at the charity stripe in Free Throw Rate.

(SportsRef)

Now lets look at some individual numbers.

  • NC State had 4 players score in double-figures.
    • D.J. Horne had a season high of 21 points, and he also led the team with 5 assists, turning the ball over only once. Horne also had 5 rebounds.
      • NC State was +13 when Horne was on the court, which was a team high.
    • Jayden Taylor had 18 points, shooting a clean 5 of 8 from the field, and was 2 of 3 from three. Taylor also had 7 rebounds and a team high 4 steals.
      • On the year, Taylor is blistering the net from beyond the arc, shooting 48.1%
    • D.J. Burns had 17 points, but shot under 50% from the field for the second straight game, making only 8 of his 19 shots. He also led the team with 5 turnovers. Despite that, the Wolfpack were +10 when Burns was on the court, which was the 2nd highest on the squad.
      • Burns did foul out of the game.
    • Casey Morsell had 12 points.
      • He shot poorly from the field (3-9), but great from three (3-6).
  • Mohamed Diarra had freaking 18 rebounds.
    • That’s the most since Dereon Seabron had 19 back on December 1, 2021.
  • Boston College shot 53.8% from the free throw line.
    • They also shot 28.6% from three.
      • Both of those numbers are the worst an opponent has shot against NC State so far.
  • NC State shot 44% from beyond the arc, which is a season high for the Pack.
    • They also shot 85.7% from the free throw line, which was also a season high.

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NC State Basketball

NC State 84 BC 78: BOX SCORE

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NC State improved to 5-2 this afternoon, defeating Boston College 84-78 on the road, winning their 2023-24 ACC opener. Below is the box score.

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NC State Basketball

NC State is a Slight Underdog in ACC Opener vs. Boston College

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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.

NC State

Boston College 

 

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NC State Basketball

#5 NC State 70 Vanderbilt 62: BOX SCORE (with notes)

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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.

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