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NC State vs. Boston College: Info, Preview, Keys to the game & How to Watch

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6 years ago

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NC State Wolfpack vs Boston College Golden Eagles
Gametime: 7:00 pm
TV: RSN (Fox Sports South)
Location: Raleigh, NC

Get to know Boston College…

The Golden Eagles enter this game 11th in the ACC and 2 games behind the Wolfpack at 6-8.  5 of their 6 wins have come at home, with their only road win coming against winless Pitt. This isn’t a bad team, but it is a team that is very reliant on their two guards.

Jerome Robinson is the ACC’s 2nd leading scorer. The junior guard is averaging 21 points and has been absolutely on fire as of late. Robinson is averaging nearly 33 points in his team’s past 4 games and is shooting a blistering 65% from the floor and 48% from 3pt range.

The funny thing is, he would have jumped at the chance to play at NC State. Robinson played his high school ball less than a mile from the Wolfpack’s campus and was known to work out at the Dail Center on his off days .Back then, however, he was a much smaller guard and was thought to be a tweener, not quick enough to make plays and not tall enough to really get his shot off at the ACC level. A growth spurt changed that.

Since getting to BC, Robinson grew nearly 3 inches and now stands at 6’6. He is one of the best scorers in the country and can do it from all 3 levels. He really forces the issue, but does a good job at getting good clean looks for himself.

Here he is dropping 46 on Notre Dame.

Helping Robinson out is the 6’1 sophomore Ky Bowman. He comes in averaging 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He’s a very athletic, very physical point guard is aggressive on both sides of the floor. This is the type of guard who has really hurt State this season. A guard who attacks off the bounce gets int the lane and can score it. You saw a similar guard, Justin Robinson from VT, slice and dice the Wolfpack defense for 32 points.

Here is Bowman nearly putting a triple-double on Duke…

After those two, BC will go to 6’5 junior Jordan Chatman who can get very hot from beyond the arc and Nik Popovic, a 6’11 sophomore averaging 9 points and 6 boards per game. he is filling in the best he can for injured senior big Deontaie Hawkins, who was nearly averaging a double-double but was lost for the season with a knee injury.

Taking a closer look at the stats, BC really isn’t awful at anything, but they aren’t great at anything either. Their 45% from the field is run of the mill in the ACC. Their rebounding is 6th in the ACC. Their offensive rebounding % is just ok at 29.8. They are not good at creating turnovers, putting up a forced TO% of 17.6 and they don’t do a good job getting to the line.

Keys to the game for NC State…

  • Slow down Jerome Robinson. No one has been hotter in the ACC and NC State has had a tendency of allowing career days to good scorers. Keatts will likely rotate guys on and off of Robinson and try to keep him out of the comfort zone. State has done a good job against 3pt shooters as of late, but this is an all-new challenge, a guy who shoots 46% from long range and can create his own shot out there.
  • Don’t let Bowman into the lane. This has been another area where State has struggled. Small, quick, physical guards who attack the rim. Justin Robinson of VT ruined them, Whether it’s Johnson, Beverly or Batts defending Bowman, they have to make sure they don’t get beat off the dribble. This forces the bigs to come help, getting them out of position and allowing the entire defense to break down.
  • Keep sharing the basketball. This team has gotten in a rhythm offensively. With Markell running the show and everyone buying into Keatts system, all of the sudden the Pack has shot over 50% in 5 straight games. This isn’t just guys getting on a hot streak. This is a team that is taking good, smart shots, and getting those because everyone is making the extra pass. If NC State can shoot over 50% again in this one, their rebounding and turnovers should hold steady and they should come away with the win.
  • Keep up the intensity and stay focused. This BC team isn’t bad, at all and if State comes out soft, they’ll lose. They’ll need a big home crowd and laser focus on their advantages (turnovers/offensive rebounding). If they can do that, and slow down Robinson, they win.

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NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

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3 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar (6’4″) has verbally committed to NC State for her final year.

Weimar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago.

She is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, and has been named Defensive Player of the Year the past two years. She has earned 1st Team Patriot League Honors the past two seasons.

This year, Weimar averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. As a Junior, she averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. She shot 55.5% this year, and 59.7% last year.

With the exodus of River Baldwin, picking up a commitment from Weimar is massive.

With the addition of Weimar, NC State now has 2 scholarships available heading into the 2024-25 season.

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

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1 day ago

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April 25, 2024

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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.

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NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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2 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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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.

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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.

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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3 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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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.

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