INSIDE THE METRICS: How did Schertz’s SLU team stack up against Wade’s NC State team

Yesterday, NC State flew out to St. Louis for an in-person interview with SLU’s Josh Schertz.

Early indications are that he’s NC State’s 1A candidate, but he’s also one of the top candidates for the Arizona job, should Lloyd bolt the Wildcats for the Tar Heels. NC State has yet to make an ‘official’ offer, but we believe most of the other terms/specifics were laid out. It’s unclear if Schertz has gotten back to NC State yet, but there is a belief that if the money is right (and the Arizona job doesn’t open tonight) he’d come to Raleigh.

There is the whole question on Justin Gainey and where he fits in. NC State is obviously seriously considering Gainey for the job as well, and his interview went as well as it could have gone, according to sources on the Gainey side. There is also a potential big time donor who seems to be siding with hiring Gainey.

That said, there are a bunch of other donors who are lined up wanting a more sure-fire hire, like Schertz. Now, I don’t think the feelings are super strong either way, and almost everyone believes NC State will be in a much better spot with either of these hires.

For the sake of this article, we want to look at how Josh Schertz is stylistically different than Will Wade. Obviously, there are a ton of factors here, but we wanted to look at one aspect where there is a tangible comparison…the metrics.

Here is how the two teams stacked up. NC State reportedly was operating with around 9-10M in NIL, while SLU was reportedly working with 5-6M in NIL.

*We are being told NC State will be operating well above their last year NIL budget. So we’ll see.

1. Efficiency & Four Factors

Both teams have excellent offenses (NC State slightly higher adj. eff.), but SLU dominates efficiency inside the arc and overall effective field goal percentage. NC State protects the ball much better (elite low turnover rate), while SLU is stronger on the glass on both ends.

2. Shooting Stats

SLU shot at an extremely high level from both 2-point and 3-point range (top-2 nationally in both 3P% and eFG%), and they also defend the interior very well. NC State has a nice edge in free-throw shooting and remains a very good 3-point shooting team.

3. Stylistic / Pace Stats

Both teams are heavy 3-point teams with high assist rates (SLU even higher). SLU plays at a noticeably faster pace than NC State, despite the Pack being sort of initially built to play in transition.

How they stack up…

• Offense: SLU was the slightly more efficient and explosive offensive team despite the narrative that the Wolfpack’s offense was so dominant last year , especially inside the arc. NC State isn’t far behind and has much better ball security overall.
• Defense: SLU has the clear advantage here. They allow the lowest eFG% of the two and defend the paint really well.
• Key Battlegrounds: Rebounding (SLU advantage), turnovers (NC State advantage), and 3-point shooting (both elite, but SLU actually shot it at a higher %).
• Style: Both run a fast paced offense with lots of 3s. SLU was simply the more complete team statistically, particularly on the defensive end and in interior efficiency, but NC State’s lower turnover rate also should be factored in.