HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: ACC Quarterfinals: NC STATE (22-9) vs VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (19-13) 930PM ESPN2
Back at it tonight for round ✌️🆚 NC State📺 ESPN2🕤 9:30PM pic.twitter.com/mBPnv4CUlj— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 8, 2023
NC State (22-9, 12-8 ACC)
vs. Virginia Tech (19-13, 8-12 ACC)
March 8, 2023
Greensboro Coliseum
9:30 p.m. ET
ESPN2
Virginia Tech Sports Network
TV Broadcast
ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Dave O'Brien
Analyst: Jay Bilas
Reporter: Holly Rowe
Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Zach Mackey
Analyst: Mike Burnop
Current Spread: Hokies +2.5
Over/Under: -146
Injuries/Absence:
NC State: Dusan Mahorcic (Forward) Knee - 3/3/23 Out Mahorcic is idle due to a dislocated kneecap, and he is not expected to return until the middle of March.
LJ Thomas (Guard) Illness - 3/5/23 Questionable Thomas is ailing from an illness, leaving his status for the first round of the ACC tournament up in the air.
Virginia Tech: Darius Maddox (Forward) Personal - 2/27/23 Out Maddox is idle with a personal issue, and he is expected to remain sidelined for the rest of the season.
Stay together. Stay connected. Makes all the difference.🦃 @JM_Squarepants pic.twitter.com/eqoMeD2Bhc— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 8, 2023
Survive, Repeat....
The Hokies look to avenge a loss in early January by taking down the Wolfpack and possibly pop the Pack's chances on the bubble. N.C. State won the first contest primarily due to their dynamic duo guard play of Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner,nthat finished with 43 of the 73 points in a 73-69 win. Keep in mind neither Hunter Cattoor or Rodney Rice played in that game. N.C. State lost three of their last five conference games so need at least one solid win to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolfpack are coached by Brad Keatts. He began his college coaching career at Southwestern Michigan as an assistant coach in 1996. NC State is his second college head coaching job, taking over the job in 2017.
The Wolfpack are a team that heavily relies on its starting five, in a four guard single forward set. The regular rotation of seven players includes five transfers in Jarkel Joiner (Ole Miss), Casey Morsell (UVA), D.J. Burns (Winthrop), and Jack Clark (LaSalle).
Defensively, Keatts approaches the game with this statement "Don't let your opponent breathe". The Wolfpack utilize an aggressive man-to-man defense that attempts to protect the perimeter and force turnovers on the outside. Keatts has the Wolfpack using the entire floor to play defense, regularly employing a full court defensive scheme. They will switch to man to man in certain circumstances. Regardless of which style they are employing, NC State so far this season has done a very good job defensively. This was supposed to be a facet of the game where they might struggle, but it just hasn't been the case. They have been greatly improved defensively compared to last season. Keatts has the team buying in to executing the basics.
Offensively, Coach Keatts wants to go fast on both ends of the floor to keep opponents off balance. His teams utilize a 4 out 1 in approach, constantly looking for an open perimeter look. The perimeter shots represent 41% of the Wolfpack's total shots. NC State shoot 52% from inside the arc and also are shooting 35% from outside. Expect to see a ton of passes to a big at the top of the lane, who then reads and reacts to what the defense is doing in terms of finding a pass or developing a shot.
The Wolfpack Backcourt
Terquavion Smith
0 SO G 6-4 160
Greenville, NC Farmville Central (NC) 94 (2021)
17.3 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 4.4 Ast
Jarkel Joiner
1 SR G 6-1 180
Oxford, MS Oxford High School
17.3 Pts, 4.8 Reb, 3.5 Ast
Casey Morsell
14 SR G 6-3 196
Fort Washington, MD Saint John's College HS (DC) 58 (2019)
12.2 Pts, 4.4 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Jack Clark
5 SR G 6-8 182
Cheltenham, PA Cheltenham HS
9.2 Pts, 7.0 Reb, 1.6 Ast
LJ Thomas
4 FR G 6-2 205
Plant City, FL Columbia (GA); Camp Jewell (GA); Bull City Prep (NC)
2.6 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Breon Pass
10 SO G 6-0 175
Reidsville, NC Reidsville (NC)
1.3 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 0.3 Ast
The Wolfpack Frontcourt
D.J. Burns
30 SR F 6-9 260
Rock Hill, SC York Preparatory Academy
13.1 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 1.5 Ast
Ernest Ross
24 SO F 6-9 190
Alachua, FL Santa Fe (FL) 69 (2021)
3.6 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Greg Gantt
23 SR F 6-8 220
Fayetteville, NC Trinity Christian (NC) 61 (2019)
1.9 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Ebenezer Dowuona
21 JR F 6-11 235
Accra, Ghana The Heritage School
1.4 Pts, 1.6 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Out
Dusan Mahorcic 11 SR F 6-10 230 8.7 Pts, 6.6 Reb, 1.2 Ast
What to expect from NC State?
In recent weeks N.C State has struggled to shoot the ball and also defending. Opponents in four out of five shot better than 40% from outside. Last time against the Hokies, both teams struggled from the perimeter, with neither team finishing above 28%.
N.C. State wants a fast paced contest and bring an in your face defensive approach. NC State makes you earn every foot of the floor and shortens the time to run a set offense if you manage to get the ball across mid-court. This is especially troublesome for the Hokies as they have struggled with set play execution and having less time to do so likely leads to quite a few lost possessions or last second heaves.
NC State struggles with bigger rosters that can employ two forwards underneath that match up against a smaller guard. One change since the Hokies played the WolfPack last is Keatts going deeper into his bench for minutes to reduce fatigue. They now have nine guys regularly playing 10 minutes or more.
Perimeter shooting is a major part of the Wolfpack strategy. It is better to risk a forward having a good day inside than to play off the perimeter. Regardless, as the Hokies saw last time when they allowed Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner to combine for 43 points, you also cant let these two blow by you. 16 of their 43 points came via the free throw line.
The Hokies
Rice and Cattoor both missed the last game so defensively they are a much different team going into this matchup. Considering how close the last game was, this may make all the difference in the final result tonight.
This game should focus on finding the open man down low as the Hokies should have a significant size advantage underneath regardless of which rotation of players is on the floor. Kidd had fourteen last time against the Pack but got no help from his other Forward brethren. This is the perfect opportunity to get Poteat scoring and utilize the High-Low game of Mutts and Basile.
This is the type of team that really makes you wish the Hokies would play zone defense. Several of the WolfPack's worst outings this season came against teams that employ heavy zone sets. Clemson employed a heavy dose of zone defense in two wins over N.C. State. The Pack also lost to Virginia and Syracuse as well.
🔨💥💥💥 @JM_Squarepants pic.twitter.com/Ky6QwKcioH— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 8, 2023
In Closing
They must find a way to score inside. Last time out the forwards combined for a mind boggling low 28 points and was only that high because Kidd had a dominant 14-point performance.
Don't let the pace lead to mistakes, better to be slow and methodical than taking unnecessary risks forcing the ball. This is especially true of Pedulla and Mutts. They need to slow down and play their normal style rather than get caught up in a run-n-gun type game. Basile post-game last night said Coach Young stressed limiting Notre Dame in the 60's and they need that again tonight.
🦃⏩️#StoneByStone pic.twitter.com/DdTPhRxBbb— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 8, 2023
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