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NC State Basketball

NC State vs Penn State: Game Info, Keys to the game & How to watch

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Gametime: 7:15pm
TV Station: ESPNU
Streaming: Watch ESPN App
Location: PNC Arena (Raleigh, NC)

NC State takes on a 6-1 Penn State team that has a lot of similarities to the Wolfpack. Where will NC State be able to take advantage and what do they have to do to walk away with the victory? We take a closer look.

Keys to the game

  • Abuse them inside: Penns State was crushed in the paint by Texas A&M and NC State should take note. After two bad losses in the Bahamas where the Pack failed to run it through their bigs, it’s likely they will focus on getting touches inside. Lennard Freeman, Malik Abu and Omer Yurtseven will have mismatches all day in the middle. If NC State plays inside-out basketball, they win this game. In their two ‘Battle 4 Atlantis’ losses, the guards were ice cold, yet shot over 90 shots in those losses. They only hit on under 30% of those. Meanwhile, the bigs didn’t even get to 30 shots in those losses but were shooting over 60%. It’s clear this team wants to play fast, but when they get into the half court, they have to rely on the advantage they’re going to have inside.
  • Stop Tony Carr: Carr is a highly efficient, wrangly 6’5 guard who can score it from anywhere. He isn’t a volume shooter, but he is smart about when to force the issue and when to let the game come to him. He’s avg. 20ppg and he’s shooting a crazy 65% from deep. But he isn’t a spot-up shooter. This guy can get to the rim and finish in traffic. Al Freeman will likely get the assignment, and it won’t be the first of it’s kind. Carr is similar to Allonzo Trier of Arizona. Both are bigger guards who can score it. Freeman did well early against Trier and that was certainly a tougher assignment, however Carr possesses the ability to post up when he gets a mismatch.
  • Will the real Markell Johnson please stand up: Keatts has been relying on Braxton Beverly as his PG as of late, but it’s only because Johnson has gone into a serious funk. Sure, he had some cramping issues, but you can’t use that excuse for poor decision making. Over the past two games, Johnson has turned it over 7 times, while only dishing out 4 assists. He’s also shot a miserable 4-13. But just turning the reigns over to Beverly isn’t the answer. Johnson is the battery that makes this motor run. His ability to play fast and under control is what makes NC State so dangerous. He needs to stop trying to make so much happen and just trust the offense. He’s at his best when he’s getting into the teeth of the defense, making them shift, and then kicking it out…under control. Too many times he found himself in the trees and decided to leave his feet to make a pass, which led to a few of his turnovers.
  • Green doesn’t always mean go: Keatts is known for giving his guys confidence by always giving them the green light to shoot it. Al Freeman is the guy that the Wolfpack would like to lead them in scoring. He’s the most complete scorer they have and he’s done it at this level. But he’s also shot NC State out of some games this season. He is 7-30 (23%) in their two losses. It doesn’t matter who you are. You can’t be putting up 15 shots per game when you’re only knocking down 23% of them. That’s just not going to be good enough to win games. NC State still needs Freeman to attempt to get going every single game, but if he’s not hitting his shot, they need to look at other options.
  • Battle of the thieves: Penn State comes in at #2 in the Power 5 in steals. NC State ranks #8. These are two elite teams at taking the ball away from their opponent. That means you are looking at two very active defenses, which also means you’re going to see a very fast pace of play. Who handles that best? We’ve seen NC State play very well when sped up, but that was with Markell Johnson taking care of the basketball and helping them get transition buckets. Keeping turnovers down will be big in NC State walking out of the PNC 6-2.

NC State Basketball

Previewing NC State’s Opponent: Marquette

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#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette in the Sweet 16 tonight. Here’s a look at the Golden Eagles before tipoff.

Marquette is ranked 8th in the AP Poll.

They lost to UCONN 57-73 in the Big East Tournament Finals.

As a team, they shoot 48.2% from the field, which ranks 23rd nationally. Their Effective Field Goal Percentage is 55.5%, which ranks 15th.

Marquette ranks 15th in Assist/Turnover ratio, 26th in Scoring Margin, and 26th in Assists per game.

Junior Guard Kam Jones leads the Golden Eagles in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game, shooting 50.3% from the field and 41.4% from three.

Senior Guard Tyler Kolek averages 15.3 points and a team high 7.9 assists. He leads the nation in assists per game. Kolek shoots 49.7% from the field and 39.7% from three.

Senior Forward Oso Ighosaro (6’11”) scores 13.6 points per game, and leads the Golden Eagles in rebounding, averaging 6.8 per game. He shoots 58.1% from the field, which ranks 28th nationally.

Junior Forward David Joplin (6’8”) averages 11.0 points per game.

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NC State Basketball

An NC State Win Over Marquette in the Sweet 16 Would Be…

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Awesome. Obviously.

#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.

1950

1951

1974

1983

1985

1986

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NC State Basketball

NC State has Won 5 ACC Championships this Year

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NC State has won 5 ACC Championships this year, which is the most of any athletic program in the conference this year.

The Wolfpack has won ACC Titles in Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, Men’s Basketball and Gymnastics.

The last time NC State won 5 ACC Championships in one year was 1979-80.

As far as I can tell, here’s a look at the Wolfpack Conference Titles from 1979-80:

Football
Women’s Basketball
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Men’s Tennis

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NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 4 Schools to Have Both Men & Women’s Basketball Teams in Sweet 16

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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.

In 2024, Why Not Us?

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