NC State Basketball
NC State Scores a Season High in a 94-85 Win Over Louisville in 1st Round of ACCT
The #10 seed NC State (18-14) snapped a 4-game losing streak, defeating the #15 seed Louisville (8-24) 94-85 in the 1st round of the 2024 ACC Tournament.
The Wolfpack won without their leading scorer DJ Horne, who warmed up, but was unable ultimately to play, due to an injured hip flexor he suffered at Pitt.
A trio of NC State guards stepped up in a big way to fill the void, especially Senior Casey Morsell, who scored 25 points, which is the most points he has ever scored against an ACC opponent. Thirteen of Casey’s points came from the charity stripe, where he didn’t miss a single shot.
Junior Jayden Taylor chipped in 18 points, to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 steals, which were both team highs. Taylor was 6 of 12 from the field.
The final member of the trio was Senior Michael O’Connell, who had 16 points, making 5 of his 9 field goal attempts.
The Wolfpack had two other players in double figures down in the post. Senior DJ Burns had 12 points, making 4 of 5. Junior Ben Middlebrooks had 11 points.
The 94 points scored by the Pack is the MOST points they have scored all year long, surpassing the 93 points they scored against Maryland-Eastern Shore.
The Wolfpack shot incredibly well this afternoon, making 52.9% from the field, 36.8% from three and 82.5% from the free throw line.
Despite that, if it wasn’t for NC State’s ability to turn the Cardinals over, and then capitalize, this would have been a different result, because Louisville shot the ball even better. The Cardinals shot 55.2% from the field, 55.6% from three and 100% from the charity stripe.
NC State scored 22 points off of 16 Louisville turnovers.
Oh yeah, it might have had something to do with making 33 free throws, compared to Louisville’s 11.
The fact the Wolfpack scored 94 points without DJ Horne will cause you to raise an eyebrow.
NC State will play Syracuse, the #7 seed, tomorrow night at 7pm on ESPN2.
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.
NC State’s 2024 4-Man Transfer Class
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)
Guard/Forward Dontez Styles (Georgetown)
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.
NC State Basketball
Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State
ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.
Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.
Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.
Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.
Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)
Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.
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Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. This was the worst team in the conference that we just played. Beat Syracuse and Duke and then we can get excited.