Connect with us

NC State Basketball

Get to Know: The #9 Seeded LSU Tigers

Published

on

The LSU Tigers finished the season will a record of 22-10 overall and finished 3rd in the SEC with a conference record of 11-7. LSU was considered one of the last few teams to get into the tournament leading into Selection Sunday, but apparently the NCAA Committee saw them as a stronger candidate for the dance than many media outlets. So lets delve into exactly who LSU is by recapping their season and giving some key stats.

Good Wins: 

The Tigers had three wins against RPI* top 50 teams this season.

  • @ West Virginia 74-73 (December 4th)
  • VS Georgia 87-84 (January 10th)
  • @ Arkansas 81-78 (March 7th)

Bad Losses: 

LSU had their share of bad losses this season as they lost 5 games to teams with an RPI lower than 100.

  • VS Clemson 64-61 (November 24th)
  • VS Auburn twice 81-77 (February 5th); 73-70 (March 7th)
  • @ Missouri 74-67
  • @ Mississippi State 73-67

Recent Form:

Over the last 12 games the Tigers have been a 500 club going 6 and 6. They were knocked out of the SEC Tournament by Auburn in OT. Even though their most recent loss was by a lowly Auburn team they did knock off Top 25 Arkansas on the road before losing in their first conference tournament game.

Summary: 

Throughout the season LSU has shown the capability to play with any team in the country as they have had three good wins against teams that are all in the field of 68. Another impressive feat for the Tigers is their road record. On the road LSU won 8 out of 11 games. They have also done a great job of winning close games. Many of their wins this season have been by a narrow margin, this fact alone will make them a difficult out! In their lone match up with undefeated Kentucky the Tigers only lost by 2 points. One of the major reason LSU was considered a bubble team is because they played a weak schedule. They finished the season with a strength of schedule of 97, and a non-conference strength of schedule of 182.

Team Statistics: 

  • Points Per Game: 73.7 (41st NCAA)
  • Rebounds Per Game: 39.2 (12th NCAA)
  • Assists Per Game: 15.7 (17th NCAA)
  • Field Goal %: 45% (77th NCAA)
  • Points Allowed Per Game: 67.7 (210th NCAA)
  • Defensive Rebounds Per Game: 27.1 (8th NCAA)
  • Blocks Per Game: 6.2 (7th NCAA)
  • Steals per Game: 7.3 (60th NCAA)

Individual Statistics: 

  • Jarell Martin #1 Forward (6-10 236 lbs.) 16.9 PPG, 9.2 RPG
  • Jordan Mickey #25 Forward (6-8 235 lbs.) 15.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG
  • Keith Hornsby #4 Guard (6-4 210 lbs.) 13.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG
  • Tim Quarterman #55 Guard (6-6 187 lbs.) 11.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG
  • Josh Gray #5 Guard (6-1 182 lbs.) 7.2 PPG, 2.2 RPG

Summary: 

Offense and rebounding are the strengths of the LSU Tigers. It is impressive that they have four players averaging double figures and a fifth player not far behind. By having a balanced attack LSU has been able to cause their opponents problems as they cannot simply key on one player. Offensively the Tigers like to get up and down the court. If you need proof of how athletic the Tigers are check out this video of transition buckets versus Florida this season. LSU will be extremely pumped to play against an ACC team in their opening game of the NCAA Tournament, in the regular season they only faced one ACC member in the Clemson Tigers. The number one reason why the Tigers will be a tough out is because of their front court. Martin and Mickey are the two cogs that will prove to give NC State all they can handle as they lead LSU in both PPG and RPG.  

 

* RPI: Rating Percentage Index is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. The higher the RPI   a team has the better.

 

5 Comments
Subscribe
Notify of
5 Comments
newest
oldest most Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
wolfpack74
wolfpack74
9 years ago

Which ever team gets out to a quick start will break the will of the other.  Hopefully our three point shooting will not kill us early.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

PackJunky Well, honestly speaking if the Pack gets by the 1st tourney game can they really lay an egg? It’s only an egg if you really expected this team to make a deep run. I know this team has the potential to make a deep run but my realistic expectations are a 1st or 2nd round exit.  Because a few weeks prior to the end of regular season if someone had told me that this team would be in the NCAAs I would not have believed it. So anything past the 1st round at this point is just icing. To… Read more »

PackJunky
PackJunky
9 years ago

How can ANYONE make ANY prediction with ANY semblance of confidence for this team. They could lay an egg Thursday, they could lay an egg Saturday, they could lay an egg next week. I think one thing is almost certain, they WILL lay an egg between now and next week. Heres to blind hope… Go Pack!

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

Other than State, I am looking forward to the following potential matchups:

wisconsin vs unc 
duke vs gonzaga
kentucky vs nd

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

If the Pack brings their A game then we can beat LSU, Vill, and Louisville. Can a Gottfried coach team beat an Izzo coached team? I don’t see it happening. I have the Pack either going out in round 1 if they play like they did against duke in the tourney or elite 8 if they play like they did in the many games leading up to the duke game.

If I am a top seeded team in the tourney, I would not want to see the Wolfpack on my bracket.

NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

Published

on

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar (6’4″) has verbally committed to NC State for her final year.

Weimar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago.

She is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, and has been named Defensive Player of the Year the past two years. She has earned 1st Team Patriot League Honors the past two seasons.

This year, Weimar averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. As a Junior, she averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. She shot 55.5% this year, and 59.7% last year.

With the exodus of River Baldwin, picking up a commitment from Weimar is massive.

With the addition of Weimar, NC State now has 2 scholarships available heading into the 2024-25 season.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

Published

on

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!

Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.

This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.

Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.

With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

Published

on

NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

Image

Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

Published

on

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tipton Edits (@tiptonedits)

This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.

Continue Reading