NC State 78 Virginia Tech 84: BY THE NUMBERS

NC State fell to 13-5 (5-2) overall today, falling to Virginia Tech (11-7/3-4) 78-84 at home. Here’s a look at the loss BY THE NUMBERS.

• Virginia Tech shot right at 10% better than NC State.
  • The Hokies shot 53.1% and the Wolfpack shot 43.3%.
  • This marks only the 3rd time this season that NC State has allowed their opponent to shoot 50%+ from the field.
    • The Wolfpack has lost 2 of those 3 games (Lost to BYU/Beat Saint Louis).
  • I don’t have the exact numbers on this, but NC State got beat off the dribble all game long, giving up easy baskets at the rim.
    • The Hokies scored 32 points in the paint (so did NC State).
• NC State turned the ball over 18 times, which is the most in a single game this season.
  • One of the Wolfpack’s strengths this season has been taking care of the basketball, but after further analysis, against good competition, that strength has waned.
    • Against Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents, NC State is averaging 11.5 turnovers per game.
  • DJ Horned had 4, and DJ Burns and Ben Middlebrooks both had 3 each.
• The Hokies scored 51 points in the 2nd half, which is the most points scored by an opponent in the 2nd half all season.
  • VT shot 63% from the field in the 2nd, and 50% from three.
  • In my opinion, and I mean no disrespect to the Hokies, this was a result of poor defense by the Wolfpack.
    • I don’t have the numbers, but way too many of VT’s shots were blow bys or wide open threes.
• Casey Morsell led the Wolfpack in scoring with 19 points, shooting 4 of 7 from the field, 2 of 3 from beyond the arc, and 9 of 10 from the free throw line.
• DJ Horne had 16 points on 6 of 13 shooting from the field, and 3 of 7 from three.
• Jayden Taylor was the only other player in double digits, scoring 15 points, but his 4 of 12 shooting leaves something to be desired.
  • NC State was -10 with Taylor on the court, which was the worst on the team.
  • The half-court offense didn’t move well with Taylor on the court today, and that had to do with his over dribbling, and his poor shot selection.
• Michael O’Connell had 5 assists and 1 turnover.
• Kevin Keatts continues to keep me curious when it comes to player rotation.
  • Breon Pass played 2 minutes at the end of the 1st half today, which was his first time seeing the court since December 23rd.
  • On the other hand, MJ Rice hasn’t played in the past two games, and only played 2 minutes against Louisville.
  • LJ Thomas hasn’t played since December 23rd.