As Kellan Grady goes, so goes Davidson College.

The 6’5 senior is an all-conference scorer who averaged 17.3 ppg this season on 47.7% shooting and 39.7% from beyond the arc. He’s an efficient scorer that can do it on all levels and he’s a motivated, emotional leader for the Wildcats.

Grady is a big, physical guard who is going to force the issue and keep NC State on their toes all night. He’s got a great motor and he’s very active on both ends of the floor. When he catches it, he’s in attack mode, so the Wolfpack is going to have to stay focused and make sure he doesn’t get hot.

Grady doesn’t do it alone though. He has a big, and capable band of sidekicks, including Hyunjung Lee, a 6’7 sophomore who emerged as a scoring threat for Davidson this season. The forward is a great shooter who led the team at 44% on the season. Lee is pretty versatile, but more of a softer, finesse player than a physical bruiser. He averages 13 ppg and 5 boards.

Their point guard is Carter Collins. He’s a bigger PG at 6’3 and he’s a senior leader who, along with Grady, doesn’t want to see his career end just yet. Collins isn’t the smaller, havoc-creating guard you’re used to seeing from mid-major schools. He’s a bigger, slower guard who uses his frame to get where he wants to go. He’s a crafty lefty with a decent jumper and a guy who limits mistakes and knows when and where to attack.

In the middle is Luka Brajkovic. Davidson was expecting big things from their 6’10 junior this season, and although he averaged 11 and 6, I think they wanted him to advance a little further. That said, Brajkovic isn’t a slouch by any means, but he’s not going to kill NC State. He’s big, he has a little jumper if you decide to let him wander outside and face up, but he’s not very quick or athletic and he’s pretty much stuck to the ground.

As a team, Davidson finished 13-8 and was 3rd overall in the A-10. However, they were picked to finish much further back and thanks to their senior guards, exceeded those expectations. As far as who they beat, well, that’s their problem. They really didn’t beat anyone of any significance. The closest they game to that was their 2 point loss to #17 Texas, early in the season.

How does NC State match up?

Davidson is big. So, like Syracuse, they’re going to use their guards to attack NC State. However, unlike Syracuse, Davidson is likely going to play a lot of man-to-man. This will allow the Wolfpack to rely more on their big lineup, with Hayes, Seabron, Hellems, Funderburk and Bates.

The one area that is less talked about is how the loss of Devon Daniels affected the Pack’s ability to guard elite scoring guards. We have no doubt that Daniels would have shut down Grady, but without him, NC State is going to have to rely on freshmen guards to stop him. That is where we think the key lies. Can Seabron and Hayes lockdown on Grady? We think they will need to because of his ability to play physically and use his frame to get to the bucket. At 6’5 he can also shoot over you.

You could try to frazzle him with Moore, but Beverly is a no-go against Grady and even Moore, at 6 foot is going to have trouble. Att the end of the day it’s going to come down to Seabron and Hayes here. Senior vs. freshmen. But this is why. you play in the NIT. This is a matchup that will challenge the freshmen, but one that will help them grow.

In the frontcourt, NC State is just better than Davidson. The Wildcats are going to struggle with the physicality of the Wolfpack and Jericole Hellems has a great matchup, facing off against Lee. For State to win they need Hellems to dominated Lee, Seabron/Hayes to slow down Grady and the team defense needs to be alert, as Davidson will slip screens and look for backdoor passes.

IF NC State can make this game about physicality and athleticism, they walk away with the win. If they let Grady and Collins get wherever they want to go and dictate the pace, it will be a somewhat ‘tough to swallow’ loss to an in-state foe.