NC State Basketball
DOWN GOES CAROLINA! NC State upsets #10 UNC 95-91 in OT
NC State came into this game as 12.5 point underdogs to rival North Carolina, but some big spread never stopped Kevin Keatts before.
NC State played one of the most focused and disciplined games of their season, answering every UNC run and punching back with poise and passion on their way to a 95-91 OT win at Carolina.
Locker room vibes after a 95-91 OT win over UNC-Chapel Hill! #GoPack pic.twitter.com/rDIBZVOHxu
— NC State Men's Bball (@PackMensBball) January 27, 2018
Al Freeman was the star. After a long stretch of struggling to find his shot and his confidence. He awoke in a big way when the bright lights came on. The transfer senior went off for 29 points, going 8-11 from the field and an insane 7-7 from beyond the arc. That type of game from Freeman took nearly everyone by surprise.
Except for PackInsider.com 😉
Not sure what’s gotten into me, but I’m feeling a big game from Al Freeman.
(Well aware that this tweet could age very poorly)
— PackInsider.com (@PackInsider) January 27, 2018
Freeman had one other performance like this when State upset #2 Arizona earlier this season and was due for a big game. However, a game like this, in all seriousness, I don’t think anyone was ready for.
But this wasn’t just the Al Freeman show. This was also a huge game for both Markell Johnson and Torin Dorn. Dorn has been a massive factor in every one of NC State’s big conference wins and he did it again, delivering a late 3 from the corner and playing extremely aggressive down the stretch. He finished with 20.
Johnson finally decided to start scoring. We noted how a scoring Markell Johnson is a very dangerouisMarkell Johnson because suddenly, you have to respect his drive a lot more, giving him even more passing lanes to work with. He finished with 11 assists (which was his 3rd double-figure assist game in a row) but he was NC State’s go-to guy in as regulation was coming to an end and then in overtime. He finished with 20 points on 7-15 shooting and 2-5 from 3.
Then there was Omer Yurtseven. No one had a bigger impact than Yurt. He finished with 16 points and 13 boards, but it was his battling in the paint and tips that kept possessions alive that made the difference. His defense down the stretch was also a huge factor in NC State nailing this one down.
The Pack shot 44.7% from teh floor, 50% from long range, was killed on the boards 48-34 but won the turnover battle 14-9.
Kevin Keatts is now 2-0 vs his crosstown rivals, beating #2 Duke and home and now taking out #10 UNC in their own house. Let me just put this right here.
Sorry Roy, but we are giant killers. CUE THE DAMN TWEET! pic.twitter.com/OgmlAqAYcX
— Barstool Pack (@BarstoolPack) January 27, 2018
This win was huge for NC State. All of the sudden they find themselves at 5-4 in the ACC and 15-7 overall. Just 4 wins away from the 9 conference win mark that many believe is the cutoff line for making the NCAA tournament.
Here is the boxscore.
Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!
Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.
This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.
For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.
247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.
Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.
Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.
With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.
NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.
Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.
Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.
Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.
The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross. Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.
With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!
View this post on Instagram
This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.
James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.
News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.
After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.
He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.
James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.