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NC State opens season tonight against Bucknell | Gameday Preview and How to Watch

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3 years ago

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NC State Wolfpack vs Bucknell
Time: 8:00pm
Location: Raleigh, NC
TV: ACCN Extra | ESPN+
Line: NC State – 25

Preview of The Bucknell Bison

Bucknell is coming off a crazy season. I mean, everyone is, but few teams had the type of disjointed season that the Bisons did.

First off, they only played 12 games all season due to starting the season two months late (COVID reasons) and then having a huge gap in February due to more COVID stuff. In all, they only played 5 different teams and finished the season 5-7.

So, yeah, trying to figure out what this team is going to look like this season is anyone’s guess, but what we can do is look at stats from last season.

Andrew Funk, their senior guard is back after averaging 12.5ppg last season. Funk has size at 6’5, but he’s not super quick and he only shot 27% from 3pt range last season. Most of his damage was done by bullying smaller guards in the Patriot League, something he won’t be able to do against NC State’s tall and long backcourt.

After that, there isn’t much to talk about. The Bisons did lose Andrew Meeks, who was their go-to scorer last season at 25ppg. He transferred to College of Charleston.

Junior Xander Rice, a 6’3 guard, may start to come into his own this season. He averaged 10ppg last season, but with Meeks gone, he’s going to get more volume and this is a kid who shot 42% from 3point range last year.

Keys For NC State

NC State has a ton of advantages in this game, but their biggest is going to be Manny Bates in the middle.

– Rely on Bates: Bates sat out the exhibition game, so this will be his first action of the season, however Bucknell simply doesn’t have anyone in the middle close to Bates’ level. He’s going to make it hard on their guards to get anything going to the rim, and he’s going to be too much to handle for any of the Bison bigs. Bates should have a big game in this one.

The other key for NC State is going to be figuring out their rotation.

– Play Fast and Play Fresh: Keatts has a lot of talent and a pretty deep bench this season (everywhere but at center), so how he uses them will be interesting. I think you’ll see him finally get that full-court press rolling now that he has a roster of long, tall athletes. That should cause havoc for Bucknell who certainly won’t be used to this type of size, speed, and physicality.

– Get on the boards, EVERYONE!: What you should be keying on in this game, however, should be rebounding. NC State did not fare well on the boards in their exhibition game (although Bates was out), but this is a team that is going to have their guards do well on the boards. Bates has never been an elite rebounder and Hellems is undersized at the 4. So it’s going to have to be guys like Casey Morsell who pick up the slack, as Terquavion Smith, Thomas Allen and Breon Pass aren’t likely to rack up many boards this year.

If NC State can do these things, they’ll walk away with a big win tonight to open the season.

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NC State Basketball

Georgia Center Transfer Frank Anselem-Ibe Visited NC State this Week

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2 days ago

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May 8, 2024

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Georgia Transfer Center Frank Anselem-Ibe (6’10″/215) was in for a visit to NC State yesterday, according to a source.

Anselm-Ibe was at Georgia the past two seasons, and was at Syracuse the two before that.

Back in 2020, Anselm-Ibe was a 4-Star prospect out of Prolific Prep in Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #18 player in the state of Georgia.

Anselm-Ibe hit the Portal on April 30th.

ECU Power Forward Transfer Ezra Ausar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago, and while things were looking good at first, at this point, it seems like things have reached a point of radio silence. From what I’m hearing, NC State would definitely take Ausar, but they aren’t going to wait for him either.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Ranks 8th in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 2024-25 Preseason Top-25

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3 days ago

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May 7, 2024

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ESPN released their updated Way-Too-Early Preseason Top-25 for the 2024-25 Women’s Basketball season, and NC State ranked 8th.

8. NC State Wolfpack

The dynamic backcourt that took the Wolfpack to their first Final Four since 1998 returns. Aziaha James (16.8 PPG), Saniya Rivers (12.5 PPG) and Zoe Brooks (9.0 PPG) are enough to keep NC State near the top of a highly competitive ACC. How well a new mix of bigs fits in will determine if the Wolfpack are good enough to win the conference and contend for a trip to Tampa. The experience of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins can’t be replaced, so how well 6-5 recruit Lorena Awou adapts to the college game and 6-4 Boston University transfer Caitlin Weimar, the Patriot League player of the year and two-time defensive player of the year, adjusts to the upgrade in competition will have a big impact on NC State’s season. Previous ranking: 8

(ESPN)

ACC Teams in the Top-25

4. Notre Dame

8. NC State

11. Duke

12. Louisville

17. UNC

18. FSU

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NC State Basketball

The Roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball Team is all but Set Heading into 2024-25

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1 week ago

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May 3, 2024

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NC State does have 1 scholarship available, and could still add a player out of the Transfer Portal. With that being said, the roster for the Men’s Basketball team is pretty much set for the 2024-25 season.

Non-graduates had to enter the Transfer Portal by April 30th, and Graduates had to enter by May 1st. Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell both made public announcements that they were returning, but the closure of entrance to the Portal means that Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Dennis Parker Jr. and MJ Rice are all set to return next season.

In a world where the Transfer Portal has all but become free agency in College Basketball, with some players switching schools on an annual basis, it’s encouraging that Kevin Keatts not only recruited a Top-10 Transfer Class, but also recruited a majority of the eligible players to stay. Three players that could transfer entered the Portal (I’m not counting Mohamed Diarra in these numbers, who opted to go pro), while 6 opted to continue running with the Wolfpack.

As a result, below is a breakdown of the roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball team heading into 2024-25, realizing the Wolfpack could still add one player (this team is deep).

1 year of Eligibility 

Guard Michael O’Connell
Guard Marcus Hill
Guard Breon Pass
Guard/Forward Jayden Taylor
Forward/Guard Dontrez Styles
Forward Ben Middlebrooks
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

2 Years of Eligibility

Guard/Forward MJ Rice
Guard Mike James
Guard Jordan Snell (Walk-On)
Guard KJ Keatts (Walk-On)

3 Years of Eligibility 

Guard/Forward Dennis Parker Jr.

4 Years of Eligibility 

Guard Paul McNeil
Guard Trey Parker

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NC State Basketball

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

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1 week 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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