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NC State Basketball

Markell Johnson Top-10 in Nation for Assist %

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Markell Johnson re-emerged against South Carolina State after 3 sub-par performances with a season-high 12 assists.

During that 3 game dip, Johnson tallied 7 assists and 7 turnovers and only logged an average of 21 minutes per game. Put that against the other 6 games this season where Johnson put up 56 assists and 16 turnovers in over 28 minutes per contest, and you can see that something just wasn’t right.

There is no concrete explanation of what happened, but that dip did coincide with both the emergence of PG Braxton Beverly (after being granted eligibility) and some tougher competition.

The point is, Markell Johnson hasn’t been firing on all cylinders for the entirety of the season, yet he still sits at #9 overall in the nation in ‘Assist %.’ Think about that. That’s how good he’s been at putting his team in a position to score.

What exactly is ‘Assist % and why is it important? Here is what SportingCharts.com has to say about it:

Although the formula itself looks a bit more complicated, the basic idea is to look at all the shots made from the field while a certain player was in the game, and find the percentage of those shots the player assisted on. This value indicates how much “control” a player has over the offense in terms of how many scores are a direct result of his passing ability.

This shows you just how important it is to have a confident Markell Johnson on the floor. When he’s on, he’s controlling the basketball game with his quickness and his vision.

Surely, Kevin Keatts is well aware of this and the current handling of Markell Johnson (seeing fewer minutes per game) is more about building him into a true leader and holding him to the highest standard than it is about punishing him for a bad couple of games.

Markell Johnson is going to be a true star at NC State. You’re seeing the numbers and you’re watching it with your own eyes. The sooner he gets there, the sooner the Wolfpack becomes a legit ACC contender. We believe that correlation is direct.

 

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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#3 seed NC State Holds on Against #6 Seed Tennessee, Defeating the Vols 79-72 to Advance to the Sweet 16

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#3 seed NC State held on last night, defeating #6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Reynolds Coliseum to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 5th time in the last 6 tournaments.

The Wolfpack led by only 1 after the 1st Quarter, but they looked like they had things under control at halftime, leading by 18 points.

At one point, NC State led by as much as 20 points in the 3rd Quarter, but the Lady Volunteers weren’t about to give up.

With 4:19 left in the 4th, Tennessee cut the lead to 2 points, but NC State might have bent, but they wouldn’t break.

Junior Guard Aziaha James led the way with 22 points and 7 assists, which were both team highs. She scored 7 points in the final 3.5 minutes, helping to squash tue Last Vols’ comeback attempt.

Junior Guard Saniya Rivers had 20 points (6-14 FG) and 6 boards.

Freshman Zoe Brooks was clutch off the bench, chipping in 16 points and 6 boards.

This marks the 16th time the NC State Women’s Basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16.

The Wolfpack will play #2 seed Stanford on Friday night at 7:30pm on ESPN in Portland.

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