University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: North Carolina State
January 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball
North Carolina State (GoPack.com)
Rankings: No. 47 KenPom, RV AP
Location: Raleigh, N.C.
2014-15 Record: 12-5, 3-1 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 150-76 (UNC 85, NC State 84, Feb. 26, 2014, PNC Arena)
With the departure of 2014 ACC Player of the Year T.J. Warren to the NBA, North Carolina State has understandably needed some time to find its new identity. Warren took a higher percentage of his team's shots last season than any player in major college basketball other than Creighton's Doug McDermott while averaging team highs of 24.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
After an 8-1 start, the Wolfpack has alternated wins and losses for the last month, with three of the four losses coming against KenPom top-50 opponents. A home setback to Wofford and a one-sided home loss to Cincinnati were signs of a team still finding itself, but the new year has been very good to Mark Gottfried's club. There was an impressive start-to-finish rout of Pitt in Raleigh, followed by a hard-fought loss at Virginia that saw NC State lead by 1 with less than 10 minutes to play.
Then came Sunday, when the Wolfpack put it all together in a stunning 87-75 beating of previously undefeated Duke. State scored 1.24 points per possession against the Blue Devils and made 10 of its 16 3s, above-average numbers for any game, let alone when facing a team as talented as Duke.
It has been a pretty well-rounded offensive attack so far for the post-Warren Wolfpack, but junior Alabama transfer Trevor Lacey has been the leader. After being held to just nine points at Virginia, Lacey exploded for 21 points and five 3s against Duke to earn ACC Player of the Week honors. Senior wing Ralston Turner, who made four 3s of his own against the Blue Devils, gives NC State two high-volume shooters who make upwards of 41 percent of their shots from deep.
Defensively, NC State is one of the nation's best shot-blocking teams, combining to swat 16 percent of its opponents 2-point attempts. Sophomore big (but, like Kennedy Meeks, not as big as before) man BeeJay Anya leads the way with 3.1 blocks per contest, a number that is even more impressive considering he logs less than 20 minutes per game. Classmate Kyle Washington is another successful shot blocker (the two had four blocks each against Duke), while reserve Lennard Freeman is a defensive rebounding machine in his limited minutes. The blocks are important, as the Wolfpack ranks near the bottom of the national rankings in both defensive turnover percentage (346th) and steal percentage (348th).
Sophomore speedster Cat Barber is the primary ball-handler, leading the regulars in assist rate and free throw rate. He is just a 69 percent shooter when he gets to the line, however, and the Wolfpack as a group is slightly below average in that category with the exceptions of Turner (88 percent) and reserve guard Desmond Lee (81).
Wednesday caps as tough a three-game stretch (at Virginia, vs. Duke, vs. UNC) as any team will face in the ACC this season, but there is a respite on the horizon. Starting with Saturday's trip to Florida State, NCSU's next six games feature just one opponent in the KenPom top 70 (vs. Notre Dame, 1/25). The Wolfpack would be wise to bank some wins during that stretch, however, as another rough patch (vs. Virginia, at Louisville, at UNC in a two-week stretch) looms.
