NC State Wolfpack vs Richmond Spiders
Time: 6:30pm
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte
TV: ACCN
Line: Richmond -2

NC State comes in surprisingly as underdogs in this one. I bet you’re wondering how that’s possible. NC State is 7-3, coming off a OT loss to the #1 team in the country, while Richmond is 6-4 without a real quality win and losses to Utah State and Drake.

Is Vegas making a big mistake? Do they know something we don’t know?

Well, it’s likely going to be a close game if you look at the stats and understand that Richmond runs a spread offense (a version of. the Princeton). They do a lot of passing, a lot of back door cutting, and a lot of driving in an empty lane, drawing defenses down, and kicking it out. This is why yesterday, Joey Wolferetti called this ‘the ultimate trap game for NC State.’

Facing a spread offense

If you’ve watched NC State, you know that defending an offense like this has been a weak spot. The last time they faced a spread offense was against Colgate, who took NC State to the brink before losing by 3.

The problem NC State has with teams like this is that they aren’t built to defend them. The Pack is built for ACC play. Big, long guards, stretch forwards who can guard multiple positions. NC State has a lot of success against bigger teams, because the way they switch every screen keeps guys covered and mismatches to a minimum.

This style of play doesn’t really work well against teams that don’t run many ball screens and like to spread the floor. Richmond is kind of a hybrid team, in that they have some size and athleticism, but still play a spread Princeton-style offense. This is a problem for NC State.

An ‘on the fly’ change in defensive strategy

The Wolfpack guards are used to playing up on their guys, taking away shots, and risking the drive, knowing they are funneling the ball handler into the lane where they will be greeted by a lot of traffic and a high-end shot blocker. The only problem is that when the floor is spread, there is not traffic in the lane and there is no shot-blocker waiting. This means that help-side defenders need to pinch in to cut off the drives, leaving shooters open from beyond the arc.

The answer seems simple. Stay in front of your man at all costs. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. The entire philosophy of NC State’s defense needs to change. They need to, in a way, forget everything they were taught, stop overplaying and focus less on deflections and more on positioning. This is not an easy transition for 18 and 19-year-olds, many of whom only understand team defense from the perspective of the strategy they were taught since stepping on campus.

The onus of making this happen is going to fall on guys like Cam Hayes, Terquavion Smith, and Casey Morsell. These are the guys who are going to be guarding the Richmond guards. And while they will have a huge advantage in height, they’ll have a bit of a disadvantage in quickness.

The Richmond guards are small and fast, and unlike most ACC guards, these guys are driving to the lane, not to score, but to create havoc, move the defense and find open shooters.

Stay between your man and the basket.

If NC State wants to win this game, the #1 thing they need to focus on is keeping their defender in front of them. This means giving a bit of a cushion to Jacob Gilyard (5’9 PG). Hayes will have 6 inches on him, so he’ll need to be disciplined in not pushing up too much and encouraging the drive. His length will make it tough for Gilyard to get open looks off the bounce, even when giving him some cushion, and he’ll need to remember this. At the end of the day, if lose, you want to lose with Gilyard hitting contested 3’s over a defender with a 6-inch advantage.

Off the ball, State needs to be subscribed to the same strategy. Give cushion. Usually, Keatts wants his guys in passing lanes, jumping passes or pushing to get deflections. That plays right into Richmond’s hands. The backdoor cut is a pressure valve. When NC State overplays, they cut behind them for an easy bucket. This isn’t the game to try to stay in the passing lane. NC State will take Richmond out of their offense, and in turn, out of the game if they are laser-focused on staying between their man and the basket, both on the ball and off the ball.

Again, NC State needs to come into this game acknowledging that they are willing to lose if Richmond is going to hit contested shots over defenders. The fact is, with the Pack’s size and length, the odds of Richmond doing that is low. They don’t have the personnel to rely on that, and they haven’t been successful trying to do that all season.

However, if the Pack doesn’t adjust to their style of play, then they are going to be playing right into the Spider’s wheelhouse. Richmond was built to beat teams like NC State, and if they’re not careful they’ll be walking right into their web.