When: Monday February 9 – 7:00 PM
Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville KY
TV: ESPN
Opponent: Louisville Cardinals
Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): Louisville 84-79 / Louisville 83-78
Wolfpack Snapshot:
- Record: 18-6, 9-2
- Rankings: KP #24, BT #23
- NET: 27 (Q1: 3-4, Q2: 8-1, Q3: 3-1, Q4: 4-0) – 5th highest NET in the ACC
Wolfpack Season So Far:
NC State head coach Will Wade postgame [Va Tech]: “We just have to be more consistent; we’re getting closer than we were. We’ve been great in spurts, but we need to be great for a complete game.”
“Virginia Tech is a really good team, they had a lot on the line today and they played
that way. Our guys were good enough to respond and answer.”
What’s On the Line?
#24 Louisville is ranked NET 17, this is a Q1 game.
Wolfpack Player Notes:
- Everyone is healthy.
Opponent Overview:
The ACC media voted Louisville 2nd in the ACC.
The “Big Red Louie” website predicts a Final Four and taking home the ACC title this season.
Coach Pat Kelsey begins his second season as head coach after an outstanding debut last season going 27-8, 18-2, playing for the ACC tournament championship, and having a cup of coffee in the NCAA first round.
He retained his leading rebounder J’Vonne Hadley and has otherwise restocked brilliantly. For example:
- High School recruiting: Top 10, 5-star point guard Mikel Brown, Jr – they beat out Kentucky, Arizona, and Alabama among a boatload of other contenders
- Transfer portal: Top 10, 5-star shooter Adrian Wooley, Top 20, 4-star shooter Ryan Conwell, Top 20, 4-star shooter Isaac McKneely
- International: Sananda Fru from Berlin, starter for Loewen Braunschweig Euro league team last season in which they made it to the Euro Cup, he shot 64.5% and averaged 12.6 / 6.2 for that season, he has played 4 seasons of pro ball
Opponent Snapshot:
- Record: 17-6, 7-4
- Rankings: KP #19, BT #19
- NET: 17 (Q1: 4-6, Q2: 4-0, Q3: 3-0, Q4: 6-0) – 3rd highest NET in the ACC
Player Notes
- Mikel Brown, Jr was voted All-ACC first team in the preseason
- Ryan Conwell was voted All-ACC first team in the preseason
What to watch for:
- Darrion Williams – After three consecutive 20+ point games, he was held to 4 by a strong VT defender. The Pack will need him at his best offensively against Louisville.
- Tre Holloman – In the last two games Tre has played his best ACC games. Against VT he played his most minutes of the season and tied for his second most points. He has become a very reliable defensive stopper.
- NCST – record watch – McNeil has 77 made 3PT shots after 24 games. He’s averaging 3.2 per game, tracking for 99 in the regular season. DJ Horne’s record is 105 (88 reg. season, 17 post season)
- LOU – 3PT? – 1st in ACC games in 3PT attempts per game, 2nd in 3PT made, 10th in ACC in 3PT%, 16th in 3PT% allowed by opponents
- LOU – weakness – blocked shots – KP has them ranked 321st in block percentage
- LOU – strength – rebounding – 2nd in combined team rebounds in ACC games, 6th in offensive, 2nd defensive
Prediction:
Together these two teams average about 170 points per game. This is a game between the ACC’s top 2 teams in 3PT FG made per game and 2 of the top 5 in 3PT attempted per game in league play. And it features 4 of the top 5 players (McNeil, Williams, Conwell, McKneely) in 3PT made per game in league play. On top of that, these are the 14th and 16th worst ACC teams in guarding the 3PT shot. There’s no telling how high the score could go. Most made 3PT shot wins the game, 80-69.
