3 Keys to the game | NC State vs. Boston College | 9PM ACCN

Exploit their offensive weakness
NC State has had trouble with high-powered offenses this season. Boston College is not one of those offenses.

BC is coming off a game where they took 29 threes against GT and only hit 4.  They are now shooting 28% from beyond the arc on the year, good for 359th out of 365 Division 1 teams.

But despite the problem from long range, they keep chucking them up. BC ranks 127th in attempts from three, and three-point attempts have accounted for 45% of all shots taken this season.

Meanwhile, the Eagles are 314th in 2-pointers attempted.

Now, this does line up with NC State’s defensive strategy thus far, which is to clamp down in the lane and live with 3s at volume from the perimeter. That said, BC is showing that they can’t shoot with a hand in their face, so it’s important that NC State get at least a light contest on every one of these looks.

Get Darrion Williams and Terrance Arcenaux going
I just watched a bunch of Darrion Williams highlights from last year, and a few things stood out. He was a lot more active and physical last year, and he was handling the ball out top A LOT. With Copeland being so ball-dominant and being such a major piece this year for NC State, Williams is getting the ball later in the process, and I think that’s bothering his decision-making.

I’d like to see NC State put Williams in some reverse pick and rolls with guys like Copeland and get some mismatches, or even with Lubin. He’s such a good passer and keeps defenses on their heels when he’s a threat to hit a cutter or knock down a jumper. Whatever it takes, NC State needs to get Darrion going because until he does, this team will never reach its full potential.

Meanwhile, there’s another guy that NC State is getting very little out of that could be a true game-changer.

Terrance Arceneaux.

Did you know TA is second in Box +/- 2.0 (a Torvik stat) in Top 50 games? We talked about it earlier this week…

TOUGH QUESTIONS: Statistically, which NC State players are playing winning basketball and which aren’t?

We dig into the data.https://t.co/XLyiLeUKMz

— Pack Insider (@PackInsider) January 4, 2026

There are games where Arceneaux hasn’t provided much for the Pack, but against Boises State you got to see what he can do. In that game he filled the stat sheet. He had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 2 assists. He was everywhere. It also just so happens that this was NC State’s only Top-50 win.

TA will likely get a shot tonight with Holloman out, so we’ll see if he can get it going.

Bottle up Sophomore G Fred Payne
Now, this might not be on everyone’s scouting report, but I think bottling up Payne will absolutely cripple BC. While 6’5 Donald Hand is their leading scorer at 15 per game, he’s kind of one dimensional, shooting just 19% from 3pt range. NC State has guys that can deal with him. But Payne is that pesky type guard who can get into the teeth of the defense and cause issues.

He’s their second leading scorer at 12ppg, but he’s streaky from 3 and has had some nice games here recently.

He dropped 22 two games ago, but was held to only 2 vs. GT in their 12-point loss.

NC State has done well against guys like this, so I’m confident they’ll have it covered, but when I look at BC’s chances to win, I feel like they need to get Payne hot from deep and playing with a lot of confidence.