NC State 81 Boston College 70: BY THE NUMBERS

NC State defeated Boston College 81-70 this afternoon in PNC Arena, improving to 17-10 overall, and 9-7 in ACC play. Here’s a look at the game BY THE NUMBERS.

The team that shot the ball best isn’t the team that won the game. Boston College shot better than NC State from the field (45%/44%) and from beyond the arch (45%/30%).

The team that one is the team that got to the free throw line the most. The Wolfpack made 21 of their 24 free throw attempts, and the Golden Eagles made 11 of 13.

In two other key statistical categories, NC State was the better team. The Wolfpack scored 18 points off of turnovers, compared to BC’s 6. Also, NC State scored 16 second chance points, while the Golden Eagles scored only 10.

It’s rare to see, but NC State led for every second of the game.

D.J. Burns led the Wolfpack in scoring with 19 points (7 of 16). The last time Burns led the Wolfpack in scoring was on January 3rd, when he scored 13 in the Pack’s 54-52 win at Notre Dame.

Jayden Taylor was big for the Pack today, scoring 15 points (3-7), with 7 of them coming from the charity stripe. He made all 7 of his free throw attempts. Taylor also knocked down 2 of his 5 three point attempts.

Casey Morsell needed this game. He scored 13 points, marking the first time he has scored in double digits since February 3rd, when he scored 15 against Georgia Tech. Morsell made 2 of 3 from three.

After leading NC State in scoring for the previous 7 games, the pressure was not all on DJ Horne’s shoulders this afternoon. Horne finished with 13 points. It wasn’t his best day shooting, making 6 of 15 from the field, and 1 of 7 from deep.

Man, I love Mohamed Diarra’s game. He had 8 points and 9 boards, and he was 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. The Wolfpack were +22 when he was on the court, which led the team.

Michael O’Connell had 6 assists with 0 turnovers, which is what you love to see. The Wolfpack’s starting Point Guard also snagged 9 boards, which tied Diarra for a team high.