When: Friday November 10 – 7:00 PM
Where: Lenovo Center
TV / Streaming: ACC Network
Opponent: Troy University Trojans (Troy, AL) (Sun Belt Conference)
Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): NC State 82-66 / NC State 83-64
What’s On the Line?
The Pack needs to make the most of this one. This is the last game prior to the season’s first road trip. They will play two games in the Bahamas next Thursday and Friday against much more difficult competition. This should be another convincing win – although
KenPom has Troy ranked #185, much closer to ETSU (#167) than Presbyterian (#262).
Big Questions to be Answered:
- Can the Wolfpack put together a complete game? As Coach Gainey says, can the team play to the standard rather than the score?
- Rebounding – The Wolfpack was dominant against a smaller, less talented, Presbyterian team. Troy is also a smaller team; they only have one 6’9” and one 6’8” player that have played more than 10 total minutes so far this season. Will the Pack continue to rebound as well? And can they do it against bigger/better competition? To be determined.
- Will this team defend the 3PT line better than last season’s Wolfpack? (see table below) The jury is still out.
Wolfpack Player Notes:
- Shah Hall has missed the last couple of games due to injury. He is expected back soon, but no specifics on when.
Opponent Overview:
Troy Coach Adam Howard is beginning his first head coaching role. He served at the NC State Wolfpack offensive coach last season under whatshisname. He is replacing Coach Scott Cross who took the Georgia Tech job. Troy is coming off two straight Sun Belt Conference championships and a trip to the NCAAT. Coach Howard returns to Troy after having worked there as an assistant coach for two seasons in 2016-2018. He brought Jayme Kontuniemi with him from last season’s Wolfpack roster. (Jayme has yet to play his first minute of American college ball)
Their Season So Far:
The Trojans (1-2) lost their first two, a home game to UMass (60-71) and on the road at FSU (68-91). They are coming off their first win of the season Tuesday, a home court overtime win against Loyola Marymount University 74-69.
Last Game’s Starting Lineup
What to watch for:
- Darius Adams – He has shined against the easier opponents but struggled against ETSU. This should be a more difficult opponent than Presbyterian. If he continues to be inconsistent in the starter role, I know a guy.
- Paul McNeil is coming off the second double-double of his career, but shot 30% or less for the second of the season’s three games. Paul will be fine, but it will be nice to see him get that shooting percentage up a bit with a little better shot selection.
- Kyle Evans – Probably due to the lopsided score, Kyle played fewer minutes last game – this was his first game with no blocked shots and he had only 2 points. Kyle is a major key to success this season, it might be a little early to be conserving minutes – if that is what was happening.
- Mikey Wilkins – Has Mikey moved to Kyle Evans’ backup, in front of Jurkovic? It looked that way Tuesday. He played the game of his career against the undersized Presbyterian team. He had 13 pts / 7 reb in 14 minutes. For comparison, so far this season Jurkovic has totaled 13 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, and a block. Can Mr. Basketball do it again? Mikey says, ‘watch me!’
Prediction: Wolfpack wins 80-69
