NC State Basketball
NC State 84 Vanderbilt 78: Initial Thoughts and Box Score
NC State improved to 4-0 tonight, defeating Vanderbilt 84-78 in the Vegas Showdown.
In all 4 of the Wolfpack victories this year, there has been a different leading scorer. Tonight, True Freshman Dennis Parker Jr. and Jayden Taylor both led NC State in scoring with 18 points. Parker was so impressive, shooting 7 of 10 from the field, and 2 of 3 from three. Taylor was so aggressive on the defensive and offensive end, as well as efficient, shooting 6 of 12 from the field, and 1 of 3 from deep. This marks the 1st time Parker has led NC State in scoring, and the 2nd time Taylor has done so.
NC State decided to run a smaller lineup against Vandy, running Parker as an undersized Power Forward. Some of that was due to matchups, and some of that was due to the exceptional play of Parker. I forgot to mention, Parker was also tied for the team lead in rebounds with 9. NC State was +11 when Parker was on the court, which was…you guessed it…a team high. The Wolfpack have something special in Parker.
D.J. Burns might have had 13 points, and tied for the team lead in rebounds (9) and assists (4), but this was his worst performance of the young season. His shot selection was poor and forced, making only 6 of his 18 field goal attempts. Burns also led the team with 4 turnovers, and the team was -2 when he was on the court.
Casey Morsell was the 4th NC State player that scored 10+ points, contributing 12 of his own (4 of 11 FG/2 of 5 3PT).
For the first time this year, NC State let a team shoot over 40% from the field. The Commodores shot 44.6% from the field, which was better than the Wolfpack’s 42.9%. Also, Vandy took 9 more free throw attempts, which is not a good recipe for victory.
In my opinion, this victory came down to turnover margin, fast break points, selfless play and bench points.
NC State turned Vandy over 19 times, compared to 12 of their own. I’m not pleased with 12 Wolfpack turnovers. It was a sloppy performance. With that being said, I’ll take a +7 Turnover Margin.
The Wolfpack played fast tonight, and were sprinting down the court soon as they had a rebound. They had 23 fast break points, compared to Vanderbilt’s 7.
35.7% of NC State’s points came from their bench. This team is deep, and gives Keatts the ability to run the way he wants to,
Finally, I love to see a team have more than half of their field goals come off of assists. Tonight NC State had 17 assists on 30 made field goals.
NC State will play the winner of Arizona State and BYU tomorrow night at 10pm.
You guys are real cool-aide drinkers. In my opinion, they have two new good players Parker and Taylor. Improvement where. They do play better defense as a whole but we have a big problem with our bigs. This is a symptom of the KK style. Three point shooting is down, Burns shooting too much, looks like last year when Smith was allowed to shoot anytime and from anywhere. No discipline.
the guy who was shooting 74% percent before last night was shooting too much? If 13, 9, 4 assists, and 3 steals is the worst we get ou tof burns then idk what to tell you. You just won’t be satisfied. and its Kool aid.
Was is the problem. 33% last tonight against a nobody. Except for Parker and Taylor, I see last year’s team all over the court.
You mean the team that finished 6 in the league and had single digit losses going intot he NCAA tourney? Also it’s more an dmore clear you didn’t watch the game (i get it. It was late and you’re old) because if you didn’t you wouldn’t be talking out your ass right now
State played a team that was missing several key players. Just wait, the meltdown is coming.
The spelling is correct. The other is a drink that you can buy anywhere.
What happen to Burns? Poor performance. Where is Rice? We are in real trouble when we see a team with two big men playing at the same time like BYU. Middlebrooks looks poor, and Horne had some bad moments also. I don’t see much improvement from last years team. Maybe we make the tournament but I am not holding my breath.
If you watch the game, you’d know that the reffing tonight was awful. Burns got hack nearly every play. If you don’t see the improvement form last years teams in the NUmbers and depth alone then maybe you should stop worrying about such complex things and just watch the games for what they are.
I agree. I mean come on. I graduated in ‘73, so maybe we have the bar set really high. But this team is FAR BETTER than last year’s. Much improved depth, front court, ball movement, and DEFENSE. They are Keatts’ fastest team and tonight we ran Vandy off the floor with fast break points. This was our first power 5 opponent and first road game (in Sin City) and on big time TV. I am more impressed with DPJ and his upside than any freshman we have signed in years.
This is team of veterans who are hungry and focused.
If he will just stay to play with the newcomers next year. Where is Rice? His back must be the problem again.
Having depth that is 6 ft 2 and less doesn’t help much in today’s game. You need bigs that can shoot further out than 4 ft and can play solid defense.
Keep blaming the Refs. Just a cop out in my opinion. Just wait till the Pack goes on the road in the ACC, if you want to see bad officiating.