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

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6 years ago

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ACC TOURNAMENT – ROUND 2

#5 NC State Wolfpack vs #12 Boston College
Gametime: 2:00 pm
TV: ESPN / ACCN (WRAL in Raleigh)
Location: Raleigh, NC

Get reacquainted with the Eagles…
Boston College finished the season 7-11 in the league with their best win coming over then ranked #25 Miami. That gave the Eagles the 12th seed in the ACC Tournament and matched them up with 13th seed Georgia Tech.

In what was a sloppy and tough to watch game, BC beat the Yellow Jackets 87-77 in the first round of the ACC tournament. They were led by a 26 point performance by PG Ky Bowman, 19 from Jerome Robinson and a surprise 20 from big man Nik Popovic.

As you probably already know, this team relies heavily on their guards. Jerome Robinson (ACC’s leading scorer), Ky Bowman and Jordan Chatman are all talented kids who the big programs passed by. They play with a chip on their shoulder and all know how to get buckets.

Robinson is obviously the most elite of the group. He is a 6’6 guard out of Raleigh who can really shoot it and leads the ACC in scoring. Last time out, NC State defended him well and held him to only 8 points (he also hurt his elbow in this game, so that may have been the problem) and yesterday his 20 points game on a 5-17 (29%) shooting performance, so he does have off-games.

The Pack will be keyed in on slowing down Robinson and Bowman. These are the guys that make the Eagles go. Bowman dropped 20 on State last time, and he is the type of guard that has caused them trouble this season, so keeping him out of the lane will be a big priority this time around.

BC finished the ACC season 10th in both FG% and 3pt %. They were 6th in rebounds per game and 7th in offensive rebounds per game. The main area they struggled all season long was with turnovers. They finished 13th in turnovers with Pitt being the only team who committed more.

 

Keys to the game for NC State…

  • Intense pressure, Turn them over. NC State needs to come out aggressive. As we noted, the Eagles are one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to giving it away. They are sloppy with the basketball and will make a lot of errors if pressed. NC State only turned them over 12 times in their first game, but it was also one of the only games all season that State really didn’t seem like it had great energy or focus.
  • Get physical on the boards. Boston College clobbered the Pack on the glass in their first meeting 42-36 and hurt them even worse on the offensive boards 20-4. This is very uncharacteristic for the Wolfpack and it’ surely an area of focus for Keatts and co. Do note that Yurtseven only logged 20 minutes in the first game due to foul trouble.
  • Stop Robinson and Bowman. Keatts will obviously have a set game plan for how to guard these two. State will likely switch a lot of screens to keep them from getting good looks from deep. Robinson struggled shooting in this same gym yesterday and they are coming off a grind-it-out sort of game, so who knows how he’ll react against NC State’s pressure. As for Bowman, State will try multiple guys on him. Al Freeman, Dorn and Markell all got shots at him last game, but no one really was super successful
  • Take care of the basketball. NC State came out of the gates extremely sloppy last time vs. BC. They were just not focused and the majority of that fell on Markell Johnson. The NC State PG turned it over 7 times in that meeting and only scored 1 point (and was 0-1 shooting for the game). As a team, the Pack gave it away 14 times. This was one of the rare times all season that State turned it over more than they took it away.
  • Win at your strengths. The last meeting was weird. NC State’s 56% shooting from the floor and 52% from 3pt range masked a lot of their shortcomings in this one. For the season, this team has made their living by creating extra possessions. That means getting turnovers and offensive rebounds, while not allowing their opponents those same things. Against BC that didn’t happen. BC killed State on the boards and beat them in the TO battle. This wasn’t because BC has better rebounders or because they have guys who take care of the ball and create turnovers. They don’t. NC State just wasn’t prepared last time these teams met and luckily they were on fire from the floor.
  • Play your guys, buy rest when you can. NC State really only plays 7 or 8 guys on a given night, and really only 6 ever get major minutes. That isn’t going to work in this 4 games in 4 days type of tournament. Keatts is going to need to lean on Lavar Batts, Sam Hunt and his senior bigs to play more minutes than they are used to if the Pack wants to make .a real run.
  • Survive and Advance. This is our first time seeing a Keatts team in a true tournament setting. We’ll be watching closely at how they come out and what type of focus they have. I think a good guess would be that they come out hungry, but  eitehr way it will be a good predictor of what time of post-season run this team is capable of.

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Papajohn
Papajohn
6 years ago

Let’s not forget, BC also beat Duke and only lost to UVA by one. They too are a team that could win a few in the ACCT. Going to be a tough game. We’ve got to guard the three, cut off the drive, and not let Popovich get Y7 in foul trouble.

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NC State Basketball

ON3’s Jamie Shaw Puts in a Prediction Georgetown SF Transfer Dontrez Styles will Land at NC State

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9 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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ON3’s Jamie Shaw put in an RPM earlier today for Georgetown Small Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles to land at NC State. All-time, Shaw’s prediction accuracy is 87%.

I spoke with a source, and it seems like this prediction has some merit.

ON3 ranks Styles as the #66 overall prospect in the Portal.

Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.

Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.

After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.

With his final year of eligibility, maybe he’ll make the right choice this time.

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NC State Basketball

Tennessee Guard Freddie Dilione V is Visiting NC State Tomorrow

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21 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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Tennessee Transfer Guard Freddie Dilone V (6’5″/195) is visiting NC State tomorrow.

Dilone V just wrapped up his Redshirt Freshman season with the Volunteers, averaging 1.7 points in 5.2 minutes of play per game (18 games).

In 2022, Dilone V was a consensus 4-Star prospect, and the #33 overall prospect nationally according to Rivals. ON3 and 247Sports both ranked Dilone V as the #1 player in the state of North Carolina, playing right down the road at Word of God Academy in Raleigh.

Currently, 247Sports ranks Dilone V as the #71 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #10 Combo Guard. He played his first three seasons of high school ball down in Fayetteville at Trinity Christian.

Dilone V has 3 more years of eligibility.

 

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PI EXCLUSIVE: 2024 4-Star Signee Paul McNeil Breaks Down His Thoughts On NC State’s Miraculous Run

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24 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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The run the NC State Men’s Basketball team went on in March had the whole country watching, but what was it like to watch through the eyes of an incoming Freshman who will be joining the team next year? 4-Star 2024 Shooting Guard Paul McNeil shared his thoughts with me on the Wolfpack’s unforgettable run.

What was it like for you to watch NC State as the #10 seed in the ACC Tournament win 5 games in 5 days to win the Title?

What we did this year shows seeding doesn’t matter. What our guys did was just another level, and when you get between those lines, it’s a different type of static. I believe it took a lot of discipline and focus to win five games in five days. I also feel like the fan base played a huge part to the team by bringing extra energy and not making them feel alone.

What do you think happened to turn this team around?

You have to give God all the glory because without Him guiding us, we wouldn’t have made it how we made it. Also, it’s about the jersey you put on and the pride of it all. It’s like there’s no way we go out this way and they clicked at the right time. The team was just rolling and I also think the mentality of all the players changed.

As a player signed with NC State, how proud were you to see NC State go on this run, from the ACC Championship, to the Final Four?

I’m very proud of the guys. They deserved to win it all, but it just didn’t happen that way. I’ve been saying they were the best team in the ACC and I always knew we had the right pieces to be the best.

What does it mean for you to see Coach Keatts get the recognition he’s getting?

Oh man, he deserves it, especially coming from where he comes from and all the things he dealt with. With all the media attention, he still stayed focused and locked in towards the team. Coach Keatts is very blessed and very humble.

How do you think this run will help the future of NC State basketball?

It will put more eyes on us and teams know now to not overlook us and underestimate us ever again. It was never a Cinderella story — it was never ‘oh they just got lucky.’ This run will definitely help us a lot and I’m forever grateful for what the boys did.

_______

McNeil (6’7″/185) led Richmond to the semifinals of the NCHSAA 4A State Playoffs this season, before losing to #1 Hanover 55-53.

As a Senior at Richmond (Rockingham, NC), McNeil averaged 31.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.6 assists per game.

ON3 ranks McNeil as the #49 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #15 Small Forward, and the #6 player on the state of NC.

McNeil is a part of a 2-man 2024 Freshman Class that includes 4-Star Guard Trey Parker.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Has Shown Interest in Oregon Transfer Forward Grace VanSlooten

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2 days ago

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April 14, 2024

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NC State has shown interest in Oregon Transfer Forward Grace VanSlooten (6’3″).

VanSlooten is one of the top players in the Transfer Portal, averaging 15.0 points and 7.1 rebounds as a Sophomore this past season for the Ducks, earning All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention. In her first year, she was a member of the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team, averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds.

NC State is returning all three starters in their backcourt, but are losing both starters in their frontcourt in River Baldwin and Mimi Collins.

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