BY THE NUMBERS: NC State ACC Total +/- after loss to Virginia Tech

We’re going to continue counting +/- during ACC play only. Early in the season these numbers can get skewed by guys playing random amounts of minutes in lopsided games, and while that number is also somewhat valuable, I think focusing on in-conference games ensures that you’re seeing who is performing against quality competition.

Again, +/- is a personal stat to show whether the team was winning or losing just while you were in the game. We are only including players averaging over 3 mintues per game in ACC play to keep things fair. Overall number are listed first with last nights numbers listed in parenthesis.

Here are the totals after FSU, UVA, Wake, Notre Dame, UNC and VT.

Ben Middlebrooks      +18 (-1)
Jayden Taylor              +18 (+14)
Dennis Parker Jr         +8 (-1)
Ismael Diouf                  -7 (-5)
Trey Parker                    -8 (+2)
Marcus Hill                    -9 (-9)
Mike O’Connell             -15 (-6)
Dontrez Styles              -17  (-2)
Breon Pass                    -23 (-2)
Huntley-Hatfield.        -33 (-)

The Takeaway
Look, things aren’t going good at all. Kevin Keatts has gone from a Final Four to potentially the hot seat after being up as much as 15 and being up 12 with 6 minutes left. ESPN had NC State with a 96.5% chance of winning this game at that point. But they found a way to lose.

Looking at these numbers, it’s clear that Keatts deserves 90% of the blame for what is going on with this team. He continues to play run out some of his worst +/- guys despite the fact that they aren’t getting the job done. He continues to play Pass and O’Connell at the point, without trying Marcus Hill there for a significant look at the 1. We’re not saying all out committing to that, we’re saying TRYING that.

He upped the minutes for Dennis Parker Jr to 17. and with that he got 8 points and 4 rebounds with some nice defense. Not bad.

He upped the minutes for Diouf to 13 and he got 7 points.

Meanwhile, Pass gave him 18 minutes with 0 points and 4 assists, while O’Connell gave him 25 minutes with 5 points and 5 assists.

I believe Marcus Hill, if put on the ball more often could replicate O’Connell’s assist numbers while giving you a true scoring threat and allowing you a spot to start giving more minutes to Ismael Diouf (AT THE 4!) and Dennis Parker Jr.

Based on +/- stats, you’d want to have:
Hill
Taylor
Dennis Parker Jr
Diouf
Middlebrooks

I know some would argue that Styles gives you more offense than Parker Jr, and you might want to have him in there instead. I think it depends on if you need defense and athleticism or another shooter. Those two guys should be sharing minutes. Diouf is your 4. Ben is your 5. You have enough data here to understand that, while not ideal, this is your best bet.