NC State Wolfpack vs #22 Creighton Bluejays St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands | 8:30pm | CBS Sports Network
NC State is a young team that is slowly starting to iron out their roles and beginning to gel. However, they are going to need to take a large leap forward tonight if they plan on beating the #22 Creighton Bluejays.
Creighton, who had been down the past two seasons, are nearly back to the level they were playing during the Doug McDermott years. That is when they were a tournament team that many analysts predicted going deep into March.
While they might not have a Doug McDermott (now with the Chicago Bulls), this team does have a ton of talent and plays very a very gritty, tough, yet sophisticated brand of basketball. They will most likely run out a 3 guard lineup that could really cause mismatches for some teams. Fortunately, NC State also favors a 3 guard lineup, so that should not be an issue.
FRONTCOURT
What may be an issue is the play of 6’11 redshirt freshman Justin Patton. This will be the first truly skilled big that NC State is coming up against and without Kapita (visa problems) and Yurtseven (9 game NCAA suspension) they are going to have to rely on Anya to guard him. The problem with that is Patton is a versatile big, and moves well. Anya on the other hand, does not move well and does better against stationary bigs. Patton is only averaging 11 ppg at this point, but this matchup really favors his skill set, as he’ll be able to put it on the floor and attack Anya without having to go back to the basket.
Their other big to watch is Cole Huff. Huff is a senior who has shown the ability to break off big nights. He is coming off an offseason knee surgery, but his 10ppg needs to be respected.
BACKCOURT
So far this season the most dominant scorer has been Marcus Foster. He is a junior transfer from Kansas State who averaged over 15ppg as a freshman. His sophomore year was a slight drop to 12 ppg, but this year he’s gotten his swagger back and is averaging 17ppg. This kid is a handful. At 6’3 he’s a big guard, who is very strong to the basket and is an elite finisher. In his career he had been a slightly better than average 3 point shooter, but this season he’s hitting 57% from beyond the arc. NC State could match him athletically with Smith, however, we’re wondering if putting the longer, more defensive minded Torin Dorn on him might frustrate him and force him into some bad shots. Check out his highlight reel and see for yourself:
When you’re not worrying about Foster, you have to worry about their senior leader Maurice Watson Jr. This is a guy who was thinking about leaving college early last year, but opted to come back for his senior season. Watson is quick, fast, strong and a good finisher. At only 5’10 he doesn’t look like he’d be such an efficient slasher, but he very much is. He will likely be guarded by Markell Johnson if he is in, and by Smith Jr when Johnson is out. The rub on Watson is that he’s not a great shooter. Coming into this season he never shot above 33.7% from 3pt range, however this season he’s knocking down 66% from beyond the arc.
Creigthon also has Kyrie Thomas, a 6’3 sophomore (who likely will be guarded by Terry Henderson) who is averaging 13 ppg himself. So, as you can see, the Bluejays have a ton of athletes and a ton of scorers.
OVERALL MATCHUP
Honestly, Creighton matches up pretty well with NC State and vice-versa. Both teams are pretty young, pretty athletic, and yet to suffer a loss this season.
As far as experience goes, Creighton has the Pack by a little bit with two senior leaders in their starting lineup and they also have faced a top 10 team already. That team was #9 Wisconsin and believe it or not, Creighton beat them 79-67.
Looking back at that game what you saw was a very hungry, very confident Creighton team. Their defense was smothering at times, and as a result led to 16 Wisconsin turnovers. Their pressure also really took the Badgers off their game and had them settling for quick and contested shots.
Another thing that goes a long way in telling the tale of the Bluejays early season surge is the fact that they are shooting almost 50% from 3pt range. Their starting 3 guards are shooting an insane 67% from beyond the arc. That is unsustainable for sure, but you’re also watching a team that is sky high on confidence thanks to that Wisconsin upset.
The Bluejays are going to be a handful for the Pack, but if Dennis Smith Jr. can provide steady leadership from the PG slot and control the pace of the game, then this game is winnable for NC State. Both teams have shown that they can thrive in uptempo havoc with their athleticism, so this one is sure to be fast, exciting and energetic.
The game is at 8:30pm eastern on CBS Sports Network.
Nothing we could do. We had 8 players and when they got into foul trouble, you cant play physical defense anymore which messed up our whole defense. Now I totally agree with you on our offenseive problems. Anya had a mismatch down low all game but he only got it in there twice! We settle for jumpers too often and its really hurting us!
Wolfer96
7 years ago
After the game Gott will blame it on not having Kapita and Yurt7.
Wolfer96
7 years ago
This is why Gottfried has to be fired. He is a shit coach. We had more talent than Creighton but we straight up got out-coached and out-played. This is season 6 and nothing has changed. No defensive strategy, poor shot selection, and repeated plays for the hot hand of the moment. What a fool I was for thinking the talent level would cancel out poor coaching.
Wolfer96
7 years ago
The only reason team isn’t top 25 is due to questions about Gottfried’s coaching. He has an opportunity tonight to silence the critics. This to me is a must-win game for Gottfried if he wants to change the perceptions of the critics and the fans. I never believed that he was a good coach but I still rooted for him to do well. No one can question his recruiting though; best since Jimmy V.
Wolfer96
7 years ago
Also would like to see Newman get a few minutes at the 2 to improve our 3 point shooing. That would really open up the inside. The only problem with Newman is that he has shown to be below average on defense so far.
Spencer is out for the season. He fractured his foot and is in a boot and on crutches. Mav is out for this game still dealing with his concussion from the Ga Southern game. Add in that we’re unable to play Yurtseven and Kapita means we are on a thin rotation against a ranked team.
Want to see Shaun get some burn at the 3 in this game. Let’s see what he can bring on the defensive end and also look for him on offense as a mismatch.
Wolfer96
7 years ago
Based on all the whistles in the 1st game it would benefit the Pack to attack the basket. Get to the line and win it from the line. This 3 guard lineup by Creighton tells me that Henderson and Mav should get limited minutes. They will be a liability on defense. Want to see more of Markell. Limit help D on the inside or we will get blasted from the 3. Anya and Abu will have to hold their own.
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)
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.
Andy Katz is beginning to make his rounds for his Offseason Convo series, and he took the time to meet with NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.
In their conversation, Keatts talked about what this run has meant to Raleigh and the Wolfpack fans, how it has helped sell the program the way it deserves to be in recruiting, and even how it helped and hurt in the world of the Transfer Portal.
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.
At this point just fire his ass and let one of the assistants take over.
Nothing we could do. We had 8 players and when they got into foul trouble, you cant play physical defense anymore which messed up our whole defense. Now I totally agree with you on our offenseive problems. Anya had a mismatch down low all game but he only got it in there twice! We settle for jumpers too often and its really hurting us!
After the game Gott will blame it on not having Kapita and Yurt7.
This is why Gottfried has to be fired. He is a shit coach. We had more talent than Creighton but we straight up got out-coached and out-played. This is season 6 and nothing has changed. No defensive strategy, poor shot selection, and repeated plays for the hot hand of the moment. What a fool I was for thinking the talent level would cancel out poor coaching.
The only reason team isn’t top 25 is due to questions about Gottfried’s coaching. He has an opportunity tonight to silence the critics. This to me is a must-win game for Gottfried if he wants to change the perceptions of the critics and the fans. I never believed that he was a good coach but I still rooted for him to do well. No one can question his recruiting though; best since Jimmy V.
Also would like to see Newman get a few minutes at the 2 to improve our 3 point shooing. That would really open up the inside. The only problem with Newman is that he has shown to be below average on defense so far.
Spencer is out for the season. He fractured his foot and is in a boot and on crutches. Mav is out for this game still dealing with his concussion from the Ga Southern game. Add in that we’re unable to play Yurtseven and Kapita means we are on a thin rotation against a ranked team.
Newman out for the year with a broken foot.
Oh man, that sucks!
Want to see Shaun get some burn at the 3 in this game. Let’s see what he can bring on the defensive end and also look for him on offense as a mismatch.
Based on all the whistles in the 1st game it would benefit the Pack to attack the basket. Get to the line and win it from the line. This 3 guard lineup by Creighton tells me that Henderson and Mav should get limited minutes. They will be a liability on defense. Want to see more of Markell. Limit help D on the inside or we will get blasted from the 3. Anya and Abu will have to hold their own.