NC State Wolfpack vs Boston College Golden Eagles
Gametime: 7:00 pm
TV: RSN (Fox Sports South)
Location: Raleigh, NC

Get to know Boston College…

The Golden Eagles enter this game 11th in the ACC and 2 games behind the Wolfpack at 6-8.  5 of their 6 wins have come at home, with their only road win coming against winless Pitt. This isn’t a bad team, but it is a team that is very reliant on their two guards.

Jerome Robinson is the ACC’s 2nd leading scorer. The junior guard is averaging 21 points and has been absolutely on fire as of late. Robinson is averaging nearly 33 points in his team’s past 4 games and is shooting a blistering 65% from the floor and 48% from 3pt range.

The funny thing is, he would have jumped at the chance to play at NC State. Robinson played his high school ball less than a mile from the Wolfpack’s campus and was known to work out at the Dail Center on his off days .Back then, however, he was a much smaller guard and was thought to be a tweener, not quick enough to make plays and not tall enough to really get his shot off at the ACC level. A growth spurt changed that.

Since getting to BC, Robinson grew nearly 3 inches and now stands at 6’6. He is one of the best scorers in the country and can do it from all 3 levels. He really forces the issue, but does a good job at getting good clean looks for himself.

Here he is dropping 46 on Notre Dame.

Helping Robinson out is the 6’1 sophomore Ky Bowman. He comes in averaging 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He’s a very athletic, very physical point guard is aggressive on both sides of the floor. This is the type of guard who has really hurt State this season. A guard who attacks off the bounce gets int the lane and can score it. You saw a similar guard, Justin Robinson from VT, slice and dice the Wolfpack defense for 32 points.

Here is Bowman nearly putting a triple-double on Duke…

After those two, BC will go to 6’5 junior Jordan Chatman who can get very hot from beyond the arc and Nik Popovic, a 6’11 sophomore averaging 9 points and 6 boards per game. he is filling in the best he can for injured senior big Deontaie Hawkins, who was nearly averaging a double-double but was lost for the season with a knee injury.

Taking a closer look at the stats, BC really isn’t awful at anything, but they aren’t great at anything either. Their 45% from the field is run of the mill in the ACC. Their rebounding is 6th in the ACC. Their offensive rebounding % is just ok at 29.8. They are not good at creating turnovers, putting up a forced TO% of 17.6 and they don’t do a good job getting to the line.

Keys to the game for NC State…

• Slow down Jerome Robinson. No one has been hotter in the ACC and NC State has had a tendency of allowing career days to good scorers. Keatts will likely rotate guys on and off of Robinson and try to keep him out of the comfort zone. State has done a good job against 3pt shooters as of late, but this is an all-new challenge, a guy who shoots 46% from long range and can create his own shot out there.
• Don’t let Bowman into the lane. This has been another area where State has struggled. Small, quick, physical guards who attack the rim. Justin Robinson of VT ruined them, Whether it’s Johnson, Beverly or Batts defending Bowman, they have to make sure they don’t get beat off the dribble. This forces the bigs to come help, getting them out of position and allowing the entire defense to break down.
• Keep sharing the basketball. This team has gotten in a rhythm offensively. With Markell running the show and everyone buying into Keatts system, all of the sudden the Pack has shot over 50% in 5 straight games. This isn’t just guys getting on a hot streak. This is a team that is taking good, smart shots, and getting those because everyone is making the extra pass. If NC State can shoot over 50% again in this one, their rebounding and turnovers should hold steady and they should come away with the win.
• Keep up the intensity and stay focused. This BC team isn’t bad, at all and if State comes out soft, they’ll lose. They’ll need a big home crowd and laser focus on their advantages (turnovers/offensive rebounding). If they can do that, and slow down Robinson, they win.