Know Your Opponent: N.C. State

By Bobby Hundley

North Carolina State (GoPack.com)
Location: Raleigh, N.C.
Rankings: NCSU - No. 75 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 8 KenPom, No. 10 AP
Records: NCSU - 14-7, 4-4 ACC; UNC - 16-5, 5-3 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 155-77 (UNC 97, NCSU 73, Feb. 15, 2017, PNC Arena)

NC State's promising start to the 2017 season went up in smoke thanks in large part to a 107-56 loss to Carolina in Chapel Hill. After entering that game 12-3, the Pack would win just three more times the rest of the season and miss the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row.

Fast forward 12 months and the Wolfpack looks a lot different. Mark Gottfried is gone, as are Dennis Smith Jr. and Maverick Rowan. Kevin Keatts, fresh off back-to-back tournament appearances at UNCW, is in charge, and a pair of impact transfers in Braxton Beverly and Allerik Freeman are in the starting lineup. But perhaps the biggest difference for NCSU is the emergence of Omer Yurtseven as a bonafide star in the making.

Yurtseven's freshman year never really got rolling after the 7-footer from Turkey was forced to miss the first nine games of the season. He certainly showed flashes - a 12-point, 16-rebound performance against Pitt stands out - but he largely took a back seat to Abdul-Malik Abu. Under Keatts, however, Yurtseven has thrived. His 2-point FG% has jumped from 46 percent to 63.5 percent, he's become a standout rebounder and shot-blocker and he's even stretched his range beyond the arc, where he's made 13 of 24 attempts on the year. Since a 4-point showing in the 30-point loss to Notre Dame, Yurtseven has scored at least 16 points in five of six outings, including a 28-point performance on 12-of-16 shooting against Miami.

While Abu joins Yurtseven in the starting frontcourt, Keatts is comfortable with a four-guard lineup. With the return of Markell Johnson from suspension, State has had success with Beverly and Freeman joining Johnson in the backcourt along with Torin Dorn and Yurtseven. While Dorn has struggled shooting from the outside, he is capable enough as both a scorer and a rebounder to cause matchup problems.

As a team, NCSU is playing faster under Keatts than it did under Gottfried. The Pack still leans on its offense and their ability on the offensive glass allows them to score consistently despite ranking 153rd nationally in effective FG%. They've struggled to defend in stretches, however, especially in ACC play where they rank ahead of only Virginia Tech and Pitt in defensive efficiency.

Wins over Duke, Clemson and Arizona are as good as any team in the country can boast on its postseason resume, but the Wolfpack's non-conference strength of schedule (275) combined with losses to Northern Iowa and UNCG has kept the RPI deflated. They rallied from nine down with 5:54 to go Wednesday at Pitt for their first road win of the season, but the Pack has not been closer than 16 in road losses at Clemson, Notre Dame and Virginia. Just as in 2017, the trip to Chapel Hill has the potential to be season-defining.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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