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NC State Basketball

DJ Burns Leads NC State to Their 1st ACC Win, Defeating Louisville 76-64

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NC State picked up their 1st ACC win of the 2022-23 season against Louisville tonight, defeating the Cardinals 76-64, improving to 11-3 on the season.

Louisville shot the ball better (51.1%/41.9%), grabbed more boards (38/35), and shot more free throws (24/21), yet the Wolfpack found a way to win the game.

How?

Well, for starters, the Cardinals had 17 turnovers, compared to NC State’s 9.

As bad as the Wolfpack shot, they managed to get up 17 more field goal attempts than Louisville.

What really killed the Cardinals was a 17-0 run by NC State in the 2nd half, and it ended up digging a hole they couldn’t climb out of.

On an impressive note, all 5 of NC State’s starters scored in double digits. For the 2nd straight game, it was the play of DJ Burns and Casey Morsell that propelled the Wolfpack to victory.

Burns is easily my favorite NC State post player in years. His old school post play is so efficient. His 17 points led the way, and he shot an insane 8 of 10 from the field. He also had 6 boards.

Casey Morsell is establishing himself as one of the best three point shooters in the nation. He scored 15 points tonight, with all of his points coming from three point buckets, hitting 5 of 7. Morsell is now shooting 48.8% from beyond the arch on the year.

Jack Clark and Terquavion Smith both scored 14 points, though neither one of them shot particularly well. Clark was 4 of 11 from the field, and 1 of 7 from three. On brand for Clark, he found other ways to contribute, leading the team in rebounds and assists, with 8 and 6 respectively. Smith was 4 of 14 from the field, but his 3 three’s (3-6) were the spark to the Wolfpack’s big run in the 2nd half. He also had 5 assists.

Jarkel Joiner also didn’t shoot well (4-11), but managed to score 13 points, hitting clutch free throws down the stretch.

The Wolfpack was a 17-point favorite, failing to cover the spread. NC State has covered the spread in only 1 of their last 8 games.

Four Factors Breakdown (NC State/Louisville)

Effective Field Goal%: 50%/55.6%

Turnover%: 11.2%/23.43

Offensive Rebound%: 37.5%/20%

Free Throw Rate: 33.9%/53.3%

NC State will play at Clemson next on December 30th at 4pm on the ACC Network.

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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Rev
Rev
11 months ago

Bonner said Mahorcic could return as early as mid January. I call bovine excrement! But if he can come back, the sky is this limit for this team.

Rev
Rev
11 months ago

Keatts called timeouts at critical times and the team responded. Louisville shot lights out in first half but our defense and Morsell and Burns kept us in the game. Really poured it on in 2nd half. If not for foul troubles we could have covered the spread. Winning is all that counts. A real team effort tonight. Glad to see Clark hit some shots. I love Burns. Smith dribbles me crazy. Morsell is just as valuable as Joiner.

Dof87
Dof87
11 months ago
Reply to  Rev

Morsell is one of the most valuable players in the ACC, but he’s probably not going to get that recognition.

This was a critical win.

Afterglow
Afterglow
11 months ago
Reply to  Dof87

Agree on Morsell. He’s so consistent and reliable. He doesn’t force the issue. Allows the game to come to him. I love Smith but have always said, that young stallion has to get control. I want to see the same consistency and reliability from Smith. His game would be above and beyond anything that we’ve seen here in quite some time if he gained those intangibles. I would say Burns has also become (been) very reliable and consistent. He’s impressed me as well.

Last edited 11 months ago by Afterglow

NC State Basketball

NC State’s Win Against Boston College: BY THE NUMBERS

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NC State started their 2023-24 ACC slate with a 84-78 win over Boston College. Her’s a look at the victory BY THE NUMBERS.

Let’s start with team numbers.

NC State won in 3 of the 4 Factors, which is a good recipe for a victory. All 4 factors matter, but they are ranked in level of importance from left to right. Obviously, shooting the ball better than your team is of the utmost importance, which NC State did. In a category the Wolfpack normally excels in, they lost the turnover battle in Chestnut Hill. Turnover Percentage was the only Factor that NC State wasn’t superior in. They also grabbed a higher percentage of possible offensive rebounds, and clearly won at the charity stripe in Free Throw Rate.

(SportsRef)

Now lets look at some individual numbers.

  • NC State had 4 players score in double-figures.
    • D.J. Horne had a season high of 21 points, and he also led the team with 5 assists, turning the ball over only once. Horne also had 5 rebounds.
      • NC State was +13 when Horne was on the court, which was a team high.
    • Jayden Taylor had 18 points, shooting a clean 5 of 8 from the field, and was 2 of 3 from three. Taylor also had 7 rebounds and a team high 4 steals.
      • On the year, Taylor is blistering the net from beyond the arc, shooting 48.1%
    • D.J. Burns had 17 points, but shot under 50% from the field for the second straight game, making only 8 of his 19 shots. He also led the team with 5 turnovers. Despite that, the Wolfpack were +10 when Burns was on the court, which was the 2nd highest on the squad.
      • Burns did foul out of the game.
    • Casey Morsell had 12 points.
      • He shot poorly from the field (3-9), but great from three (3-6).
  • Mohamed Diarra had freaking 18 rebounds.
    • That’s the most since Dereon Seabron had 19 back on December 1, 2021.
  • Boston College shot 53.8% from the free throw line.
    • They also shot 28.6% from three.
      • Both of those numbers are the worst an opponent has shot against NC State so far.
  • NC State shot 44% from beyond the arc, which is a season high for the Pack.
    • They also shot 85.7% from the free throw line, which was also a season high.

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NC State Basketball

NC State 84 BC 78: BOX SCORE

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NC State improved to 5-2 this afternoon, defeating Boston College 84-78 on the road, winning their 2023-24 ACC opener. Below is the box score.

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NC State Basketball

NC State is a Slight Underdog in ACC Opener vs. Boston College

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NC State (4-2) will play their first ACC game of the 2023-24 season tomorrow on the road against Boston College (5-2), and they enter the game as slight underdogs. The Wolfpack are 1.5-point underdogs, and the Total is 150.5.

  • NC State is 0-2 Straight Up as underdogs
    • BC is 4-1 Straight Up as favorites.
  • NC State is 2-4 Against the Spread.
    • BC is 4-3 Against the Spread
  • The Total has gone Under in 2 games for NC State, Over in 3 and Pushed in 1.
    • The Total has gone Under in 3 games for Boston College and Over in 4.
  • NC State is 6-4 in their last 10 games against BC Straight Up.
    • NC State is 4–6 Against the Spread in their last 10 games against BC.
    • The Total has gone Under in 5 games, and Under in the other 5.

NC State

Boston College 

 

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NC State Basketball

#5 NC State 70 Vanderbilt 62: BOX SCORE (with notes)

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The 5th ranked NC State Women’s Basketball team improved to 8-0 tonight, defeating Vanderbilt 70-62 in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.

Notes

  • Saniya Rivers scored 20+ points for the 2nd time this season, scoring 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting. She also chipped in 8 rebounds and 2 steals.
  • River Baldwin posted her first double-double of the season. She scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards.
  • Aziaha James has now scored in double figures in 7 of 8 games, scoring 14 points tonight, shooting 6 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.
  • Freshman Zoe Brooks led the Pack in steals (4) and assists (4).
  • NC State didn’t shoot well, making only 39% of their shots. Fortunately, they held Vandy to 34.3% shooting.

The Wolfpack will host Illinois State on Sunday at 2pm.

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