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Wolfpack look to build momentum vs Irish | Preview, Breakdown and How to Watch

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2 years ago

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NC State Wolfpack vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Time: 9:00pm
Location: Notre Dame, IN
TV: ACCN
Line: ND -5

NC State visits Notre Dame tonight to take on an Irish team that has won 5 of their last 6 games and find themselves just half a game out of first place in the ACC.

The Irish use a well-balanced offensive attack, relying on good ball movement and great 3 point shooting. They rank 2nd in the ACC in 3pt % at 37.5% as a team.

Leading them is Dane Goodwin, a 6’6 junior who can light it up (15.2ppg). He’s leading the ACC, shooting an insane 48% from long range. They also have an emerging star in Blake Wesley, a 6’5 freshman who is averaging 15 points per game and coming off a 22 point performance vs Louisville.

Goodwin is most effective when catching and shooting, but he can put it on the floor and go to the rim as well. He’s not very athletic, but defenses are forced to play him close because of his ability to shoot. This allows him to shot fake, and get a step going to the rim.

Wesley is a lot like Dereon Seabron. He’s long, athletic, and loves to get to the rim. He’s a better shooter than Seabron, hitting 32% from long range, but he’s not quite as physical, or slippery on his way to the rim. However, Wesley is just hitting his stride and will be looking to keep it going tonight. He’s been a matchup nightmare for teams, but NC State has the size and length to match up well with him.

In the paint, the Irish have Paul Atkinson Jr. (6’9 senior) who is averaging 11ppg and 6 boards. They also have Nate Laszewski (6’10 junior) who is averaging 8 points and 7 boards. Atkinson is more of a prototypical big who likes to post up, while Laszewki can either post up or step out and hit 3s.

Having two bigs is going to be a problem for the Pack who are going to have Dowuona and Hellems guarding them. These guys can also pass well, meaning throwing double teams at them won’t be a great strategy, especially with ND’s shooters.

At point guard is Prentiss Hubb, who runs the show and averages 8 points and 3.5 assists.

Notre Dame is likely to show NC State a lot of zone to slow down Seabron and force the Pack to beat them from beyond the arc.

Keys to the Game

– Shoot it well. As we noted, the Irish is likely to throw a good bit of zone at NC State. This will slow down Seabron and force the Pack to take a lot of 3s. Keatts teams have done a good job historically against zones, as they don’t just hoist up contested 3s. Instead, Keatts likes to get the ball into the high post to Hellems. From here he can either attack or find open shooters. But those shooters need to be hitting. Knocking down a few early 3s will force ND to go back to man, which is where Seabron can get going.

– Hellems is huge. Hellems has been hot lately and he’s going to need to keep that trend going if State wants to walk away with this road win. With ND likely to challenge NC State with some zone, Hellems is going to be the point man at the high post. He’ll have some open shots from the free throw line that he’ll need to knock down early. This will force ND to pull their bigs up and challenge him, leaving the blocks open for dump downs. If they pinch him with guards, this will open up 3s. Hellems needs to play big to pull the Irish out of their zone.

– Slow down the Notre Dame bigs. NC State is going to have a matchup problem with either Laszewski or Atkinson Jr. Dowuona matches up better with Atkinson, who won’t beat you on the perimeter, but that leaves Hellems having to guard Laszewski who is 6’10 and will have the advantage on the blocks. If Dowuona guards Laszewki to limit easy buckets in the post, Hellems has to body up with Atkinson Jr. who is bigger and stronger down low. There’s not a great answer here for NC State. Doubling down will leave shooters open, and ND WILL knock those down. So Keatts is going to have to get creative if he wants his team to come out victorious in this one.

 

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Rev
Rev
2 years ago

You tube TV does not show this game on ACCN tonight. It has FSU at GaTech at 9pm. ???

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NC State Basketball

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

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12 hours 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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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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2 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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NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill is on a Visit to NC State

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2 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.

Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. 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 #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.

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NC State Basketball

What did an ACC Title & Final Four Mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.?

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3 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.? The man who won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 gave me a statement.

It means a lot. It means a lot to the university, the state of North Carolina and a lot more to my dad, grandma, and myself. They have been NC State fans since forever, so their excitement level was though the roof when they saw BOTH of our basketball teams shining like that. It was a great feeling!

2017 was Smith Jr.’s only year of College ball, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors, and obviously, he earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

DSJ was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Smith Jr. just wrapped up his 7th season in the NBA. This was his 1st season with Brooklyn, playing in 56 games for the Nets. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, averaging 18.9 minutes per contest.

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