NC State takes on Montana in their Paradise Jam opener tonight at 6pm in St. Thomas.
The Pack opens as a 9 point favorite, however, this is not going to be an easy win by any means. State will be without freshman big man Ted Kapita due to student visa problems. They also could be without Mav Rowan whose status is uncertain after suffering a concussion in the season opener.
Keys the Game:
– Wyoming is 0-2 with losses to USC and Wyoming, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have weapons. Ahmad Rorie is a sophomore guard who is putting up over 15ppg. Rorie is an Oregon transfer who has a nice stroke. He’s not super quick, but he can at times create off the bounce. At 6’1 he’s not a big guard, but he can put up points quickly. Luckily, NC State is not short on big guards who can defend. They could use their size to bother Rorie, but they need to know where he is and not let him get many clean looks. Stop Rorie and you pretty much can stop Montana.
– Play physical. Montana is not huge, but they aren’t an awful rebounding team. They were outrebounded by USC by 7 and by 1 against Wyoming. This normally wouldn’t be such an issue, however. without Kapita and Yurtseven, State will be lean in the front court. Abu, Anya and Hicks will need to really work hard to win the battle of the boards in this one.
– Play smart. Offensively, NC State should be able to have their way with Montana, but over the first two games, the Pack has had stretches where they took quick shots, and settled for contested jumpers. As the competition gets tougher, the Wolfpack needs to start valuing possessions a little more. Getting to the basket is going to be paramount. That means Dorn, Henderson and Smith are going to need to force the issues every now and then.
– Get Dennis Smith Jr. going. Smith missed over a year of basketball as he recovered from a knee injury, and over the first two games you’ve seen him shaking off the rust. As he gets more accustomed to the physicality of college basketball I think we’ll start to see the player that scouts were drooling over. Our bet is that we start to see the real Dennis Smith emerge during the Paradise Jam.
The game tips at 6pm eastern and can be seen in CBS Sports Network.
Love Markell’s game. 6 assists and zero turnovers. Exactly the type of guard to lead the Pack for years.
Dennis is not looking like himself. I have a feeling that a lot of that has to do with the sky-high expectations and the pressure that comes with all that. He needs to block that out and let the game come to him. He has the physical tools but he doesn’t look like he’s there mentally yet.