7th Seed Virginia Tech Hokies @ 2nd Seed NC State Wolfpack
Time: 6pm
Location: Greensboro
Coverage: ACCNX

One year ago, NC State stood on a podium to be officially crowned ACC Champs. Ace Konig laughing with joy, realizing the mountain they had climbed to get there. Wes Moore had a smile from ear to ear, speaking about how absolutely proud of this group he was.

That was on March 8^th, four days later the NCAA cancelled the remainder of Winter sports season, the NCAA Tournament and the hopes of a run on the national stage by the Wolfpack.

While multiple Pack players and Moore have stated repeatedly that they’re just focused one game at a time, it’s hard to believe there isn’t at least one eye looking ahead. Without a doubt, on paper, it will be them and Louisville in the Sunday championship game. But we all know how sports go, you have to play the game first.

RUBBER MATCH WITH VT

There were only two teams that beat the Wolfpack this year, UNC and Virginia Tech. The former has already exited, the latter faces off against State at 6:00pm tonight.

In the first matchup, late game heroics were needed to dig out of a 14 point deficit with 8:17 remaining. Crutchfield had her own 10-point run in a minute of game play and Kayla Jones added five points late to seal the game, 89-88.

The second matchup happened just four days later but with a big piece missing for the Pack. Elissa Cunane was out due to COVID protocol and State fell in OT 83-71. Hobby did her best to make up for the star Center, one board shy of a double-double of her own (19/9). In the end, State looked exhausted in OT, as VT scored 26 in a five-minute span.

Which brings us to Friday’s matchup. Winner moves to the semis, loser awaits their seeding in the NCAA Tournament (With a loss, VT would grab a 9^th seed and State a 2^nd Seed…but hell, committee would probably hate them enough to push to 3^rd).

PREVIEW OF THE VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES

Hokies came into the Tournament dropping only one game in their last eight. They wrapped up their regular season at 14-8 (8-8 ACC) to grab the #7 seed. Thursday they beat Miami 72-64 behind four players scoring in double digits.

Virginia Tech, cutting straight to the point, is a two-horse team. Center Elizabeth Kitley is averaging a double-double on the season with over 18 points and 10 rebounds. She has as many assists as fouls, and a steady number of blocks. She’s aggressive and will cause issues in the paint. In her two previous meetings against the Pack, she had a combined 47 points and 24 boards.

The other half of the duo is Guard Aisha Sheppard, the second leading scorer in the ACC. She was the biggest factor in previous matchups, lighting State up for a combined 52 points. But here’s the issue for the Hokies, she’s not 100%. Sheppard left VT’s second round game before the half and remained on the bench for the entirety of the game with an ankle injury. It sounds as though she was prepared to return, but with the comfortable lead, she stayed put.

KEYS FOR NC STATE

Virginia Tech is a team that loves to get out early and then hold on. If Cunane and Hobby can at least slow Kitley down, they’ll have a great chance. If Sheppard truly isn’t a hundred percent, State needs to be active on defense and force her to become a distributor. It was literally a two-women team in their previous meetings, and they have a chance to trim that to one. Limiting runs made by VT, unlike in Syracuse last week, is the biggest key.

For State it’s simple, get some productivity from everyone on the floor early. State loves to start halves strong, and for this game, that will be huge. Would expect this game to flow well offensively and have double-digit scoring numbers for four Pack players. They need to be more aggressive on the boards than in previous games. Can’t have moments where they are out muscled.

MATCHUP OF THE DAY

We got a Guilford Derby today! State star Cunane (Northern Guilford) and VT star Kitley (NW Guilford) grew up 12 miles apart. Both lead their high schools to state championships, although difference classes. This will be the battle of the day, and should be exciting to watch.

PREDICTIONS

Watch for us to be a homer this weekend…State is clicking on all cylinders and will be hungry to prove they’re the best again. While we’d hope they start fast, there will be some overthinking early, before settling down. It will be a solid game as the Pack wins 77-68.