Connect with us

NC State Basketball

Previewing NC State’s Opponent: Virginia Tech

Published

4 months ago

on

NC State (13-4/5-1) will host Virginia Tech (10-7/2-4) in PNC Arena at Noon today. Before tipoff, lets take a look at the Hokies.

Virginia Tech’s best win this season was against Iowa State on November 24th on a Neutral court, defeating the Cardinals 71-62, which is a Quad 1 win. Iowa State currently ranks 10th in the NET Rankings.

The Hokies lost their other 4 Quad 1 games:

Florida Atlantic (29) 50-84 (N)
Auburn (8) 57-74 (A)
Wake Forest (46) 63-86 (A)
UVA (56) 57-65 (A)

While VT doesn’t have any Quad 3 or 4 losses, they do have 3 Quad 2 losses.

South Carolina (71) 77-79 (N)
FSU (87) 74-77 (A)
Miami (62) 71-75 (A)

It’s worth noting that the Hokies lost those three games by a combined 9 points.

Virginia Tech’s defense is stronger than their offense. The Hokies rank 13th in the ACC in Scoring Offense (73.1), but rank 5th in Scoring Defense (67.5). Numbers can be weird sometimes, because they rank 6th in Field Goal Percentage (45.6%), and rank 12th in Field Goal Percentage Defense (43.3%).

The Hokies like to shoot the three, ranking 5th in Three Point Field Goals made (140), making 35.5% from beyond the arc.

Virginia Tech ranks 5th in the ACC in Rebounding margin (3.8), and rank 1st in Opponents Combined Rebounds (30.6).

Considering the fact that VT ranks 11th in Turnover Margin (-0.24), and NC State is 3rd in creating Turnovers, the Wolfpack should be able to take the ball away effectively today.

In a little more advanced statistical analysis, Virginia Tech ranks 22nd nationally in preventing their opponents from grabbing Offensive Rebounds. On the other side of the court, they can’t grab an Offensive board of their own, ranking 256th in Offensive Rebounding Percentage. Also, when the ball is in their hands, it doesn’t always stay there, ranking 211th in Turnover Percentage.

Virginia Tech has three players averaging double figures in scoring.

Junior Guard Sean Pedulla is averaging 16.3 Points per game (11th in the ACC), making 39.5% of his three pointers. He also leads the Hokies with 4.2 Assists per game.

Senior Center Lynn Kidd (6’10″/235) is averaging 14.0 Points per game, while shooting an insane 66.4% from the field, which is tops in the ACC by more than 4%. He also leads the Hokies with 6.8 Rebounds per game.

Senior Guard Hunter Cattoor is averaging 13.4 Points per game, shooting 47% from the field, and 41.1% from three.

Related Topics:

Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NC State Basketball

The Roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball Team is all but Set Heading into 2024-25

Published

3 days ago

on

May 3, 2024

By

NC State does have 1 scholarship available, and could still add a player out of the Transfer Portal. With that being said, the roster for the Men’s Basketball team is pretty much set for the 2024-25 season.

Non-graduates had to enter the Transfer Portal by April 30th, and Graduates had to enter by May 1st. Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell both made public announcements that they were returning, but the closure of entrance to the Portal means that Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Dennis Parker Jr. and MJ Rice are all set to return next season.

In a world where the Transfer Portal has all but become free agency in College Basketball, with some players switching schools on an annual basis, it’s encouraging that Kevin Keatts not only recruited a Top-10 Transfer Class, but also recruited a majority of the eligible players to stay. Three players that could transfer entered the Portal (I’m not counting Mohamed Diarra in these numbers, who opted to go pro), while 6 opted to continue running with the Wolfpack.

As a result, below is a breakdown of the roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball team heading into 2024-25, realizing the Wolfpack could still add one player (this team is deep).

1 year of Eligibility 

Guard Michael O’Connell
Guard Marcus Hill
Guard Breon Pass
Guard/Forward Jayden Taylor
Forward/Guard Dontrez Styles
Forward Ben Middlebrooks
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

2 Years of Eligibility

Guard/Forward MJ Rice
Guard Mike James
Guard Jordan Snell (Walk-On)
Guard KJ Keatts (Walk-On)

3 Years of Eligibility 

Guard/Forward Dennis Parker Jr.

4 Years of Eligibility 

Guard Paul McNeil
Guard Trey Parker

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State’s Men’s Basketball 2024 Transfer Class Ranks in the Top-10 Nationally

Published

4 days ago

on

May 2, 2024

By

NC State’s Men’s Basketball team has picked up 4 players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, and the class ranks 10th nationally according to ON3, and 15th nationally according to 247Sports.

ON3

247Sports

NC State’s 2024 4-Man Transfer Class

Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)

Guard/Forward Dontez Styles (Georgetown)

Guard Mike James (Louisville)

Guard Marcus Hill (Bowling Green)

NC State still has a chance to move up in the rankings. East Carolina Power Forward Ezra Ausar just wrapped up an Official Visit to NC State, and things are looking good for the Wolfpack. ON3 ranks Ausar as the #67 overall player in the Portal, and the #15 Power Forward.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

WATCH: Andy Katz’s Offseason Convo with NC State’s Kevin Keatts

Published

4 days ago

on

May 2, 2024

By

Andy Katz is beginning to make his rounds for his Offseason Convo series, and he took the time to meet with NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.

In their conversation, Keatts talked about what this run has meant to Raleigh and the Wolfpack fans, how it has helped sell the program the way it deserves to be in recruiting, and even how it helped and hurt in the world of the Transfer Portal.

Check out the conversation below:

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State

Published

5 days ago

on

May 1, 2024

By

Guard Michael O’Connell announced today that he will be playing his final year of eligibility at NC State next season.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michael O’Connell (@michaeloc_12)

Today was the final day graduate players could enter the Portal.

This past season, O’Connell averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolfpack, starting 22 of the 41 games he played in.

O’Connell took over as NC State’s starting Point Guard on January 30th in a win against Miami.

He only scored in double figures in 9 of his 41 games this season, but 6 of those came in postseason play (5 in the ACC Tournament). O’Connell took things to another level in the ACC Tournament, playing aggressive on the offensive end, looking for his shot, and attacking the rim.

NC State played it’s best basketball of the season when O’Connell was running the show. He ranked 3rd in the ACC in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.5).

Heading into next season, with a lineup filled with new faces, having the calming presence of a veteran leader like O’Connell is reassuring.

Continue Reading