NC State used a balance attack led by Caleb Martin and Cat Barber to get back on track with a win over South Alabama 88-70.

Early on it looked like the Pack’s opening season loss was going to bleed over into this game. Quick shots, turnovers and lack luster defense allowed the Jaguars to stay close throughout the first half, but things changed after the break.

Suddenly Cat Barber became more assertive, Caleb Martin started finding his groove and the Wolfpack offense started to click. As the offense started to take shape, the defensive intensity began to spike as well. Instead of moving the ball around the perimeter and settling for a contested jumper, Barber began to attack. When defenders adjusted he was able to kick to the open man or find a big underneath. Gottfried also got them to start trusting his high-low attack. They began running it through the high post, which opened up opportunities for the bigs in the low post. Some deft interior passing started leading to open looks, and uncontested slams on the blocks. When South Alabama adjusted and collapsed on the bigs, the perimeter looks started to open up.

This is the type of offense that NC State is going to need to trust going forward. Gone is Trevor Lacey, who bailed the Pack out with his ability to create off the dribble, but that might not be as bad as it sounds. State is now going to need to trust Gottfried’s offense to get open looks, and the faster they understand that, the quicker they’ll become a factor in the ACC.

Let’s take a look at some of the positive notes from last nights win:

Cat Barber-
In game one, and in the first half of this one, Barber was much too patient. He looked like the Cat from early last season, complacent and ok with simply moving the ball from point to point. Barber is at his best when he’s getting into the paint and making plays. He doesn’t necessarily need to get to rim on his drives, he just needs to get his man on his shoulder and demand weak side help. He started doing this in the 2nd half last night and as expected, the offense opened up. Barber had a huge game, going for 17 pts, 12 boards and 8 assists. This is the Barber that State will need if they are going to succeed.

Malik Abu-
Abu was a monster in game one and again in game 2. He is just such a force down low, especially when he’s guarded by an under-sized opponent. In only 20 minutes of play (foul trouble) he put up 14 points and 6 boards. This team really needs him playing at a high level at all times. Sure, he’s going to dominate in the post, but he’s also such a disruptor at the high post. While he surely can knock down open jumpers from there, in the 2nd half you saw him applying pressure to the defense by putting it on the floor or finding the low post dump down for a 1 on 1 opportunity with no help.

Beejay Anya-
Finally, we got to see all the hard work Beejay put in this offseason. He looked quicker, more agile and more confident in the post and on defense. He finished with 8 points, 5 boards and 5 blocks, but his play really ignited this team. With him and Abu on the floor there is certain to be mismatches. He was able to take the high-low dump downs and turn them into points. This is where, on offense, he’s going to flourish.

Caleb Martin-
Two games and two great performances by Caleb, who is now looking like a true scoring threat for the Pack. He had 19 points on 7-10 shooting (4-6 from beyond the arc) and really looked good. Sure, he had a huge night in game one, but as we said after that game, he’s going to need to show more discipline in his shot selection. Against W&M he took a lot of shots out of the flow of the offense and while some went in, the misses really deflated their rhythm. Against South Alabama he was much, much better. He took good shots, attacked when he could and looked like a true scorer out there. His form is vastly improved and if he takes smart shots, he’s going to be filling up the stat sheets on the regular basis. This was a very encouraging performance from Caleb.

Next up is IUPUI in Raleigh on 11/18. This only gives Gottfried and his guys two days of rest and prep before taking to the floor again. If they can show as much improvement in that one as they showed against Southern Alabama, then we might be looking at a young team that is ready to take on some bigger challenges.