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NC State comes on late to take down Wake 72-63
At times it felt as NC State was going to let this one slip away.
Although NC State spent a majority of this game within a few points of the Deamon Deacons, it felt as if they may never get over the hump.
That was until Keatts finally found a combination that clicked.
Markell Johnson, Lavar Batts Jr, Braxton Beverly, Torin Dorn and Omer Yurtseven came in at around the 5-minute mark and everything changed. Suddenly, NC State was getting stops and their offense was getting easy buckets. They went a 10-0 run to close the game. Taking it from down 1 at 63-62 with 3:28 left, to a 72-63 victory.
Before that final push, it was all Omer Yurtseven. The sophomore big man continued his emergence as NC State’s go-to scorer. He finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds on the night.
The other impressive lines came from Braxton Beverly (who just missed a double-double at 10 points and 9 assists) and Markell Johnson (who added 13 points, 4 assists and 6 rebounds).
Wake was a tough group to figure out for the Pack. They had 3 guards who could all score and a big (Doral Moore) who was having his best ACC performance to date. They shot over 50% in the first half, but Keatts made adjustments at halftime and the Pack held them to an ice cold 27.8% from the floor in the 2nd half
NC State also took care of business in all the key categories. They won the battle of the offensive boards 12-11. They won the turnover battle committing only 12 while forcing 13. They shot the ball better, finishing up at 42% to Wake’s 38%. And they got to the line more, shooting 20 FTs to Wake’s 15.
NC State moves to 13-6 overall and 3-3 in the ACC. Next up is #25 Miami on Sunday.
After losing to rivals UNC and Duke last week, the NC State Women’s Basketball team fell out of the Top-10 in the Week 17 AP Poll, landing at #12. NC State started the 2023-24 season unranked, but jumped to #14 in the first Poll after the Preseason Poll. The Wolfpack have been ranked in the Top-10 since November 20th, which equals 14 straight polls.
ACC Teams in the Top-25
5. Virginia Tech
12. NC State
17. Notre Dame
19. Syracuse
22. Louisville
27. Duke
29. UNC
30. FSU
The Wolfpack will host #19 Syracuse on Thursday night at 7pm.
NC State will kick off their 2023 Football season next Thursday night against UCONN at 7:30pm. The Wolfpack released their Depth Chart for the game today.
Notes
- Redshirt Sophomore Anthony Carter Jr. is listed as the starting Left Guard. If Redshirt Sophomore Lyndon Cooper wasn’t missing the first game due to injury, I wonder if Carter would be starting. Doeren did praise Carter in his press conference today. Also, he stated that Cooper should be back for the Notre Dame game.
- Noticeably, Graduate Transfer Offensive Lineman Dawson Jaramillo is also missing from the Depth Chart. Unfortunately, Jaramillo has suffered an injury, and will miss the entirety of the 2023 season. This is a huge blow for Jaramillo, and a huge blow for the depth of the Wolfpack Offensive Line. Jaramillo was a Swiss Army knife, having the ability to play in numerous positions.
- Very often, Doeren has stated that the “Or” in between two names means that the coaching staff sees both players as starters. There is an “Or” in between Chris Toudle and Trent Pennix at Tight End, with the former being listed first. Maybe it doesn’t matter whose name is listed first, but I’m shocked Pennix’s name wasn’t the one at the top.
- I’m not shocked that Julian Gray and Keyon Lesane are listed as the starters at the X and Y Wide Receiver positions. They both have had a lot of buzz surrounding them in Fall Camp, and Lesane was named a captain. Obviously, with Gray’s speed, Offensive Coordinator Robert Anae is going to want to find a way to get the ball in his hands. With that being said, and this is no disrespect to the two of them, but both of them are 5’11”, which isn’t exactly the way you would sculpt your prototypical outside receivers. I expect Terrell Timmons and Bradley Rozner to both be heavily in rotation at the X and Y, to give the outside receivers a good dose of speed as well as height.
- True Freshman Running Back Kendrick Raphael might be buried at the bottom of the Depth Chart at his position, but I bet he sees a carry before Mimms or Jones. Doeren mentioned that we would see Raphael against UCONN, but didn’t mention Jones or Mimms. Anae likes to run 2 Running Back sets, with one of them almost functioning like a Full Back. As a result, I’m not shocked to see Jones and Mimms where they are in the Depth Chart.
- Props to True Freshman Kevin Concepcion for earning the starting job at the Inside Wide Receiver position. Get ready to hear his name a lot this year. KC is backed up by Redshirt Sophomore Jalen Coit, who Doeren spoke highly of today.
- Junior Porter Rooks is no longer sitting behind Thayer Thomas on the Depth Chart. Doeren said that Rooks has had a great camp. The former 4-Star prospect has an opportunity to show that those stars meant something by his name. With that being said, he will be pushed by True Freshman Javonte “Juice” Vereen, who even has national media buzzing about him heading into the season.
- Three True Freshman are on the Offensive Depth Chart: Left Guard Kamen Smith, IWR Kevin Concepcion and FLEXY Juice Vereen.
- True Freshman Kamal Bonner is 2nd on the Depth Chart at the Will Linebacker spot, backing up Payton Wilson. What’s noteworthy, is that he’s ahead of former 4-Star prospect Jordan Poole in the Depth Chart. Bonner must have made a heck of a first impression.
- As expected, ODU Graduate Transfer Robert Kennedy is starting at Nickel.
- True Freshman Brandon Cisse is backing up Aydan White at Right Corner, and Doeren said we should expect him to contribute.
- Redshirt Sophomore Jalen Coit will be filling in the shoes of Thayer Thomas at Punt Returner.
