NC State Wolfpack
Atlantic Coast Conference (18-15, 5-11)
Seed: #6
East Region
Big Wins:
1/31 at Virginia Tech (70-59), 2/3 North Carolina (83-79), 3/8 vs Duke
(85-80)
Bad Losses:
12/23 at Cincinnati (71-80), 2/6 at Georgia Tech (65-74), 2/10 at Miami
(65-80)
Coach:
Sidney Lowe
Probable
Starters:
Engin Atsur,
Senior, Guard, 11.2 ppg, 4.3 apg
Courtney Fells,
Sophomore, Guard, 11.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Gavin Grant,
Junior, Guard, 15.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.1 apg
Ben McCauley,
Sophomore, Forward, 14.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.4 apg
Brandon
Costner, Freshman, Forward, 16.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Dennis Horner,
Freshman, Guard, 4.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Bryan Nieman,
Senior, Guard, 2.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Trevor
Ferguson, Freshman, Guard, 1.8 ppg, 0.9 apg
Why They Can
Surprise:
The Wolfpack
made a nice run through the ACC Tournament to earn a bid in the NIT. NC
State shoots the ball well and shares the ball even better. Seven players
make up the bulk of the rotation and none of them shoot under 45% from the
floor. The starting five all averages at least 11 points per game and
anybody can step up and have a huge game on any given night.
Engin Atsur and
Courtney Fells are not the biggest scorers on the team, but create a
formidable backcourt. When healthy, Atsur is one of the most underrated
point guards in the nation and averages 11.2 points and 4.3 assists per
game. The Wolfpack will not take a lot of three’s and Atsur, with 1.8 per
game, is the main threat to knock them down.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
The frontcourt
duo of Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley are decent rebounders, but have had
trouble against bigger and stronger opponents on the glass. Costner is not a
banger under the basket and will spend some of his time behind the 3-point
stripe on the offensive end. McCauley, a 6-9 sophomore, will stick around
the paint a little more, but lacks the strength to fight rebounds away from
most big men in the ACC.
Who To
Watch:
The versatile
Gavin Grant will help in the rebounding department with his 5.3 boards per
contest, but the junior does much more than that. Grant averages 15.1 points
per game and dishes out 4.1 assists and can even pick up some steals and
blocks. At 6-7, Grant can be a mismatch for opposing wings. He can use his
speed to get a bigger defender and can use his height to shoot over a
smaller defender.
By the
Numbers:
Scoring
Offense: 72.2 (111th in nation, 10th in conference)
Scoring
Defense: 72.3 (254, 10)
Field-Goal
Percentage: 49.4 (8, 2)
Field-Goal
Defense: 44.4 (201, 8)
Free-Throw
Percentage: 73.1 (45, 3)
Rebound Margin:
-2.2 (252, 12)
Assists Per
Game: 14.9 (80, 5)
Turnovers Per
Game: 14.9 (194, 8)
Joel’s
Bracket Says: First Round loss to Drexel
