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Final Thoughts on NC State’s Loss to #3 Virginia

Published

6 years ago

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  • NC State wasn’t ready for a team like that. Virginia did exactly what they wanted to do on both ends of the court and the Pack could do nothing about it. On the same note, this was the one game on the schedule that we marked for the best chance to take a loss. Just the combination of experience and the style of play didn’t bode well for the Pack.
  • Bad night defensively. State just played bad defense. They didn’t have the intensity level we’ve seen over the past 2 games and didn’t do enough to make the Virginia guards uncomfortable. State needs to keep guys in front of them because when they don’t, their help-side over commits and leaves shooters wide open. Virginia took advantage of this and knocked down shot after shot. They were 56% from the field and 57% from 3pt range. It was a bad defensive night for State, combined with a red-hot shooting night for UVA.
  • Offensively, State was flustered. They were out-physically by a bigger, stronger UVA team. Too many boneheaded plays where guys tried to go one on one, couldn’t get by their guy, had their pride hurt, and plowed in anyways, only to take an off-balance shot. This team needs to play together if they want to win and last night they didn’t. 7 assists on 23 made baskets isn’t going to cut it.
  • UVA shut down State’s weapons. Al Freeman put up his first goose egg of the season and only was able to get 5 attempts. Yurt only had 6 points, and Beverly had 4. These are the scorers NC State has relied on this season, and Virginia took them away.
  • Just didn’t shoot it well. Part of the reason the Wolfpack didn’t shoot it well is that UVA played such good defense. They didn’t let their guys get by them, meaning they didn’t need to help off, which kept State’s shooters smothered. But it’s not like they didn’t get some good looks. I can remember 3 from Beverly that were clean looks that just didn’t fall. Freeman had an open look and Yurt had 2. State shot an awful 12% from 3. If they just would have made 4 more 3s  (which would have brought them up to a more normal 37% from beyond the arc), this would have been a 68-63 game and with it that close, who knows what would have happened.
  • Big games coming for the Batts/Johnson combo. I thought when these two guys played together, you started to see the havoc Keatts wants his system to create. Johnson, however, was obviously rusty. After missing 8 games due to suspension you can understand why. But he had his moments. In his 23 minutes, he dished out 5 of the Pack’s 7 assists. That’s impressive and what State has really been missing. Batts provided it against Duke, but this team really misses a guy like Markell, who gets into the lane with ease and creates for his teammates by nature. When Johnson gets back into form, this duo is going to be fun to watch.
  • Torin Dorn continues to play well. One guy who seemed extremely hungry last night was Dorn. Sure, he made some mistakes, but overall I thought he played extremely hard and overall, pretty well. He finished with a team-high 16 points on 7-12 shooting. Over the past 3 games, Dorn is averaging 13.6 ppg, shooting 56% from the floor and has knocked down 4-6 from beyond the arc (66%).
  • I want to rant on the refs for a second. Not one time this season have a mentioned the refereeing. Not on this site, nor to any friends or to fellow State fans. I think the reffing has been good overall this year. That said, I think Virginia’s brand of basketball is very reliant on the referees letting teams play physical. Last night, the refs set the tone by not blowing the whistle when NC State made an effort to get the ball into the post. There is no way NC State should only have gone to the line 5 times last night. They were getting the ball in the post and I thought the Pack played pretty physical themselves. State murdered UVA on the offensive boards 14-5. Those offensive boards led to 14 second-chance points, but they should have led to way more. State’s bigs were getting bodied all over the place and while I respect physical basketball, the refs have to draw a line. State was called for 18 fouls and Virginia, only 10. For the entire game, only 10 calls. As good as a team can be on defense, if you play that physical, you’re going to foul more than 10 times. I thought last night was one-sided and really helped UVA impose their will.

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NC State’s Men’s Basketball 2024 Transfer Class Ranks in the Top-10 Nationally

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15 hours ago

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May 2, 2024

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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.

ON3

247Sports

NC State’s 2024 4-Man Transfer Class

Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)

Guard/Forward Dontez Styles (Georgetown)

Guard Mike James (Louisville)

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.

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WATCH: Andy Katz’s Offseason Convo with NC State’s Kevin Keatts

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20 hours ago

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May 2, 2024

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Andy Katz is beginning to make his rounds for his Offseason Convo series, and he took the time to meet with NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.

In their conversation, Keatts talked about what this run has meant to Raleigh and the Wolfpack fans, how it has helped sell the program the way it deserves to be in recruiting, and even how it helped and hurt in the world of the Transfer Portal.

Check out the conversation below:

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Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State

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1 day ago

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May 1, 2024

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Guard Michael O’Connell announced today that he will be playing his final year of eligibility at NC State next season.

 

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A post shared by Michael O’Connell (@michaeloc_12)

Today was the final day graduate players could enter the Portal.

This past season, O’Connell averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolfpack, starting 22 of the 41 games he played in.

O’Connell took over as NC State’s starting Point Guard on January 30th in a win against Miami.

He only scored in double figures in 9 of his 41 games this season, but 6 of those came in postseason play (5 in the ACC Tournament). O’Connell took things to another level in the ACC Tournament, playing aggressive on the offensive end, looking for his shot, and attacking the rim.

NC State played it’s best basketball of the season when O’Connell was running the show. He ranked 3rd in the ACC in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.5).

Heading into next season, with a lineup filled with new faces, having the calming presence of a veteran leader like O’Connell is reassuring.

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ECU Transfer Forward Ezra Ausar to NC State is Trending Up

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2 days ago

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May 1, 2024

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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)

At this point, it’s good news that Ausar has no visits scheduled after the visit to NC State.

Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.

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