Connect with us

NC State Basketball

NC State looking to stay unbeaten vs. Florida International | Gameday Preview and How to Watch

Published

1 year ago

on

NC State Wolfpack vs. Florida International Panthers
Time: 9:00 PM
Location: Raleigh, NC
TV: RSN / ACCN

NC State takes on Florida International of Conference USA at 9pm in Raleigh as they look to start the season 3-0.

The Panthers are 2-0 on the season, with wins over Houston Christian and Florida National. This will be their first true test against a power 5 team. Last year they finished 15-17 on the season, finishing 2nd to last in the C-USA East division.

You can expect Florida International to be a guard-led team, with sophomore Denver Jones averaging 17.5 points per game (after avg. 12 in his freshman campaign) and freshman Arturo Dean averaging 16.5 pts per game. This is a team that is going to play fast and try to put up a lot of points.

While the guards score most of the points, their bigs aren’t anything to scoff at. The Panthers have a 7’1 junior center, Seth Pinkney, however, Pinkney is just 200lbs, so he’s going to give up 25lbs to Mahorcic and 75lbs to DJ Burns. It’s not likely he’s going to be getting great position on the block vs. a very strout NC State front line. Meanwhile the 4 position poses a little more complexity for NC State. 6’5 Nick Guadarrama will be giving up 3 inches to Jack Clark, but at 25olbs. he’ll definitely have the strength advantage.

Guadarrama transferred in this season from New Hampshire where he averaged 12 points and 5 boards last season, and while he only shot 30% from 3, he has previous seasons of 37% and 40% (so far he’s 0-6 this season). This guy is some weird hybrid that you don’t see very much in college basketball. He’s a tweener with a ton of mass and solid game both on the perimeter and on the block. This is a strange matchup that Keatts will have to figure out how to defend.

These early games are good for the Pack. Against Campbell they faced a smaller, faster big and tonight they’ll face a shorter, thicker forward. They likely won’t see either of these types of player in the ACC, but when you get to the end of the season in tournament play, its good to have a little experience against everything.

What we’re looking for:
– The main thing we want to see in this one is NC State showing the ability to defend the perimeter and not demand so much help side. That is crucial. As you saw against Campbell, when you leave college shooters open, they hit. NC State needs to challenge every shot and we’d like to see guys not overplay on help side, and hedge a little bit towards their man, trusting the on-the-ball defender to do his job.

– A little better shooting performance maybe. NC State needs Jack Clark and Casey Morsell to be consistent from downtown. These are two guys who are going to get open looks thanks to Joiner and Smith. If they can hit, things open up drastically for everyone else.

How to watch: 
This game is on RSN, which means Regional Sports Network, which in the Triangle means Bally Sports South. Your ACCN stream is going to be blacked out in most of NC, so make sure you figure out a way to get Bally. However, if you are outside NC then you might get the game on ACC Network (on the ESPN app).

To get Bally Sports South you’ll need to subscribe to Direct TV Stream, as they are the only steaming cable package that offers them according to CordCutterNews.com. Otherwise, you’ll have to go the traditional cable or satellite route and get Direct TV or Spectrum (formally Time Warner Cable). If you’re not in the Triangle area, then you’ll have to check with your local cable provider to see if you can get it.

Some people tweet that they use a VPN to get around the blackout on ACCN, but we don’t know anything about that and don’t condone doing that.

Related Topics:
Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NC State Basketball

Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State

Published

5 hours ago

on

May 1, 2024

By

Guard Michael O’Connell announced today that he will be playing his final year of eligibility at NC State next season.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michael O’Connell (@michaeloc_12)

Today was the final day graduate players could enter the Portal.

This past season, O’Connell averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolfpack, starting 22 of the 41 games he played in.

O’Connell took over as NC State’s starting Point Guard on January 30th in a win against Miami.

He only scored in double figures in 9 of his 41 games this season, but 6 of those came in postseason play (5 in the ACC Tournament). O’Connell took things to another level in the ACC Tournament, playing aggressive on the offensive end, looking for his shot, and attacking the rim.

NC State played it’s best basketball of the season when O’Connell was running the show. He ranked 3rd in the ACC in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.5).

Heading into next season, with a lineup filled with new faces, having the calming presence of a veteran leader like O’Connell is reassuring.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

ECU Transfer Forward Ezra Ausar to NC State is Trending Up

Published

17 hours ago

on

May 1, 2024

By

ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.

Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.

Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.

Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.

Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.

Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)

At this point, it’s good news that Ausar has no visits scheduled after the visit to NC State.

Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State Signee Zamareya Jones Showed Out in the McDonald’s & Jordan All-American Games

Published

18 hours ago

on

May 1, 2024

By

NC State 2024 signee Zamareya Jones has played in the McDonald’s All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic over the past month.

In the McDonald’s game on April 2nd, Jones had 13 points, helping her East squad defeat the West.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SportsCenter NEXT (@sportscenternext)

In the Jordan Brand Classic on April 21st, Jones had 15 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. She also hit the game winner for Team Flight.

Jones is a 5-star prospect in the Wolfpack’s 2024 recruiting class, ranked 21st overall nationally by ESPN.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State’s Kevin Keatts and DJ Burns Sounded the Siren at the Canes Game Tonight

Published

1 day ago

on

April 30, 2024

By

NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts and the beloved DJ Burns were both Siren Sounders for the Canes this evening, with Carolina defeating the Islanders 6-3, winning the Round 1 series 4-1.

Continue Reading