NC State’s Loss to Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge: BY THE NUMBERS

NC State lost 59-63 to Texas this evening in the ACC/SEC Challenge, and it’s not altogether confusing why the Wolfpack lost.

When you lose a game by 4, and shoot 6 of 14 from the free throw line, there’s your sign.

To put it bluntly, it’s unacceptable for a team full of Division-1 scholarship players to shoot that poorly from the charity stripe.

NC State continues to lose games because they allow their opponents to win the battle of the offensive glass. Texas was +3 in offensive boards, and was +3 in second chance points.

The Wolfpack allowed Longhorns Forward Arthur Kaluma, who is 6’7″, to snag 16 rebounds, tying a career high.

The Wolfpack entered the contest as one of the worst teams in the country in Offensive Rebounding percentage, and tonight they kept the trend going. Texas’ Offensive Rebounding Percentage was 39.4%, while NC State’s was 29.4%

Texas shot the ball better (Effective Field Goal Percentage: Texas – 52.8%/NC State – 49.1%).

Senior Guard Marcus Hill and Senior Forward Dontrez Styles were effective, scoring 16 and 17 respectively. Combined, they shot 14 of 23 from the field, and 4 of 7 from three.

It’s great that they shined, but it’s going to be hard to win, when 2 of the players returning from last years Final Four run combine to shoot 4 of 18 from the field, and 0-5 from three. Senior Guard Michael O’Connell was 1 of 8 from the field and 0-3 from three. Senior Guard Jayden Taylor was 3 of 10 from the field, and 0-2 from three.

Through 8 games, it is clear that NC State doesn’t have a dominating rebounder. There would have been no ACC Championship or Final Four run if it wasn’t for Mohamed Diarra’s elite rebounding ability. There’s a significant problem when Michael O’Connell leads your team in rebounds, with 6. The Wolfpack’s two big men, Senior Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Senior Ben Middlebrooks had 5 and 3 respectively. While I’m all for Guards rebounding the basketball, it’s actually important for your big men to grab a majority of the boards so that the Guards can get out quickly in transition and score on the break. NC State had a meager 11 fast break points this evening.

This team needs to head over to the Dail Center, and shoot free throws all night, and practice basic box out drills.

In all three of NC State’s losses, their opponent has been superior in Effective Field Goal Percentage, Offensive Rebound Percentage and Free Throw Rate.

The numbers aren’t mathing, and that’s why NC State is losing.