NC State Wolfpack vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Raleigh, NC
TV: ACCN

NC State had to work through a lot of emotions over the past 48 hours, and now they’ll have to be ready to take the court tonight vs. a struggling Notre Dame team that sits 1-8 in conference play.

NC State must feel cheated after the loss in Chapel Hill. They also must feel angry and relieved. Angry because despite the reffing on Saturday, this team still had a chance to win the game but couldn’t pull it off, and relieved because for a minute there it looked like they lost their superstar, Terquavion Smith, only to find out that he might suit up just a few days later.

The loss to UNC, while frustrating, isn’t really that bad on the resume. That was a Q1 game, and Q1 losses don’t kill you. But letting a game like tonight’s slip away might.

Notre Dame has been bad. They are 9-11 on the season and 1-8 in ACC play. Their season highlight so far is a win over #20 Michigan State at home. Other than that, they haven’t done much. Their biggest ACC win (which was their only one) was at home vs Georgia Tech by 1.

The key to holding down Notre Dame is to smother their shooters. The Irish shoot a lot of 3s. In fact, they have attempted the 4th most 3s in the ACC (816) and are 2nd in percentage made (38%). They rely on 6’10 senior Nate Laszewski who is leading their team in scoring at 14ppg and hitting 42% of this 3s. Nate can stroke it, this is the 3rd season in a row he’s over 40% from long range. Then there is senior Dane Goodwin who is averaging 12 ppg and hitting 40% of his 3s. Guards JJ Starling and Cormac Ryan are also big guards who can shoot.

This Notre Dame team is tall and they can shoot. They aren’t that quick and they aren’t going to win by banging down in the post, but if you leave them open, they’re hitting.

NC State’s Keys to the game

– Don’t take it easy. This won’t be a cakewalk
NC State can’t come off that super emotional UNC game and think they are going to walk over Notre Dame. In fact, the Pack really doesn’t match up all that well against the Irish. Their center, Laszewski likes to play on the perimeter and shoot 3s. Meanwhile, DJ Burns doesn’t like defending that far out, and if you leave Laszewski, it’s probably going to cost you 3 points. So how are the going to guard him? That’s a really good question.

– Crash the boards
Notre Dame is near the bottom in rebounding in the ACC, and State has done a pretty good job on the glass lately and are right in the middle of the pack in the ACC. They have to make sure Notre Dame is one and done. They are going to shoot a lot of 3s, so there will be a lot of long rebounds. If NC State can make sure to pounce on those, there will be the chance for quite a few run-outs.

– Good communication on D
With a lot of tall shooters, the Pack needs to be communicating on their switches. Get lost for a second and you’ll be closing out too late. These guys are tall and don’t need much room to get it off. Notre Dame isn’t beating anyone off the dribble from the guard spot, so that shouldn’t be a worry, but State can’t get sucked into the paint, leaving shooters open on the wing.

– Get Smith back and hope he doesn’t miss a beat
I know you wouldn’t believe it by looking at the records, but I think this is a game NC State would have a hard time winning without Smith. All signs are that he is going to play, but we’ll have to wait and see. ND has nobody that can guard Smith, and really don’t have rim protectors, so if he does play, and he is healthy, then I’d expect him to blow up for a big one tonight.