Gameday: NC State opens ACC play tonight vs. Pitt | Game Preview & How to Watch

NC State Wolfpack vs. Pitt Panthers
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Raleigh, NC
TV: ACCN

NC State opens ACC play tonight, at home, against the 5-3 Pitt Panthers.

I’ll spare you the long recap of NC State’s season, since if you’re a reader here you’ve likely been following along. Basically, State is 7-1 on the season and knocked off 2 quality opponents in Dayton and Butler, after taking #3 Kansas to the wire. This prompted Ken Pom to make the Pack the highest-rising ACC team in his latest rankings. All of this from a team that was picked to finish 10th in the ACC.

Now the real challenge begins. Can they keep up this level of play vs. ACC opponents. Tonight we find out.

Pitt is 5-3 with losses to West Virginia, #20 Michigan and VCU. Their 5 wins all against smaller conference teams except for their 29-point blowout of Northwestern. They are also on a 4 game-winning streak, however in the current Ken Pom rankings, NC State slots in as the 2nd best team that Pitt has faced (West Virginia is #25, NC State is #49). The Panthers lost to West Virginia by 25 at home.

So what can we expect…

6’7, 235lb junior Blake Hinson is leading Pitt with almost 17 pts and 7 boards per game. He’ll be an interesting matchup for State. He’s going to match up with Clark at the 4, but he’s 35 lbs heavier. He’s also shooting 60% from 3-point range over his last 5 games.  This is going to be a big test for Jack Clark.

Meanwhile, the Pitt guards are good at pressuring you. Jamarious Burton (6’4) is averaging almost 15 points, 4 assists per game and is shooting 40% from downtown. Greg Elliot (6’3) is averaging 9 points and while only shooting 34% from 3, he’s had seasons where he’s been in the 40% range.  Then you have senior Nelly Cummings who is averaging 9 points but isn’t shooting it well. Cummings, however, is pretty physical for a small guy (6ft).

Their lone true post guy is 6’9, 265lb John Hugley who averaged almost 15ppg last season and was a key guy for Pitt. This year he’s averaging 10 points and 5 boards and isn’t as featured thanks to the addition of Hinson (from Ole Miss). However, he’s still a quality big who can score a little in the post and rebound the basketball.

I know this is Pitt and it’s at home, but this is not going to be a walk in the park for NC State. Pitt has good size and strength up front and has guards who can make things happen. The key for the Pack is to limit drives into the lane. Joiner, Smith and Morsell have done a good job doing that so far, and if it keeps up here, then you’ll force Pitt to shoot over top, which won’t work out well for them (they are shooting 33% on the season from 3). However, let these guards slice and dice you up and you could get yourself in trouble.