Connect with us

NC State Basketball

NC State 64 Pitt 67: BY THE NUMBERS

Published

3 months ago

on

It’s next to impossible to win a basketball game shooting 40% from the free throw line. NC State shot 6 of 15 from the charity stripe this evening, while Pitt shot 90%, making 18 of 20.

Rarely is it ever that simple, but this evening, it was.

I’m not saying there weren’t other factors that led to the Wolfpack’s loss. Obviously there were, but NC State managed to shoot better than Pitt from the field (46.4%/42.3%) and from three (33.3%/23.8%), and still lost the ball game.

The Panthers had 3 more second chance points, but the Wolfpack had 10 more points off of Turnovers. NC State took care of the ball, turning it over only 6 times.

It’s hard to look at this game on paper, and realize you let one get away.

To give the Pack credit, they were down 13 points at one point in the 2nd half. They were also down by double-digits at one point in the 1st half, and came back to even it up as well.

This game would have been in the bag if Casey Morsell and Jayden Taylor could have managed to score more than 5 points combined, with the former scoring all of the 5. Morsell was 2 of 7 from the field and Taylor was 0-3.

As good as DJ Horne and DJ Burns were, they really needed either Morsell or Taylor to factor into the game offensively in some way.

Horne continues to be one of the best scorers and shooters in the ACC, scoring 20+ for the 3rd straight game. He finished the evening with 25 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field, and 5 of 10 from three.

Burns had a season high 19 points, shooting 9 of 16.

With the Pack currently on the outside looking in when it comes to NCAA Tournament projections, this one hurts badly.

The season isn’t over, with 5 Quad 1 games coming up. With a loss tonight, it becomes imperative that NC State beats a couple of teams they shouldn’t beat on paper.

Related Topics:

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

3 Comments
Subscribe
Notify of
3 Comments
newest
oldest most Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Inhoc...
Inhoc...
2 months ago

“Road wins are hard!” They said….

“But we’re 4th in the ACC!” They said…

And there’s those of us who knew better after watching the first few games…

I’ll be an optimist when this program is playing for seeding, and not a “last 4 in” spot.

0
wolfpack74
wolfpack74
2 months ago
Reply to  Inhoc...

We are in the “last 20 out” maybe. These last games are the hardest. I think we will win two more games, maybe 3. At that rate we will not be invited to the NIT.

Last edited 2 months ago by wolfpack74
0
wolfpack74
wolfpack74
2 months ago

Packpainforlife says: We don’t have a guard who can get by a defender and we don’t have a guard who can stop someone from driving by them especially if they are an opposing team freshman. They just light us up. Embarrassing, but we do have a whole team of guards. We need some real bigs for a change, and of course a new coach.

Last edited 2 months ago by wolfpack74
0

NC State Basketball

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

Published

2 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

3 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

3 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

4 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