When: Tuesday February 3, 9:00 PM
Where: Moody Coliseum, Dallas TX
TV: ESPN2
Opponent: SMU Mustangs
Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): SMU 82-81 / SMU 82-80
Wolfpack Snapshot:
- Record: 16-6, 7-2
- Rankings: KP #23, BT #25
- NET 27 (Q1: 2-5, Q2: 8-0, Q3: 2-1, Q4: 4-0)
Wolfpack Season So Far:
Coach Wade after the Wake Forest game:
“We’re at the halfway mark now. I believe we’re seven and two here at the halfway mark. …I do think we’re making progress. You put 96 points up on the road, that’s hard to do. Our guys did a good job. 19 assists on 33 made baskets is really good as well.”
“I think
we found a rhythm. We’ve got a good rhythm. We’ve got a good way about us. Every season is going to have its up and downs. It took me as a head coach a little longer than most years to kind of figure out how to play this group. … Very proud of our guys.”
What’s On the Line?
- SMU is ranked NET 34 making this a Q1 game. Most of the Wolfpack’s remaining games are “resume builders”, so critical to come out of this 9 game stretch with a winning record.
- Based on the current NET rankings of the Pack’s remaining schedule (see table below), this game is ranked right in the middle, difficulty wise, and SMU is the lowest ranked Q1.
- Six of the Wolfpack’s final 9 games are probable tournament teams, and Va Tech is scratching at the door.
Wolfpack Player Notes:
- Terrance Arceneaux is from Beaumont TX – it’s still 5 hours (ish) from Dallas, but hopefully he has family at the game and shows off for them.
- Most recent injury report only included Jordan Snell and Colt Langdon
Coach Wade on SMU
“I mean, their guard play is tremendous. With Miller, Edwards, and Pierre, they have the ability to make really, really tough shots and just dictate the game with their guards. I think Washington’s an unsung guy, averaging double-digit points, but they’ve got really, really good personnel. They give them space, and they let them boogie.
I mean, he [Boopie Miller] does a great job operating out of the pick and roll. Look, anytime you’re a small guard, you’ve got to be able to shoot it — and he can really, really shoot it. He shoots over 50 percent from mid-range, shooting 53 percent from mid-range, shooting at 37, 38 percent from three. He draws a lot of fouls, does a good job getting to the free-throw line about eight times a game in league [play]. And he’s an 80 percent free-throw shooter in league, 90 percent free-throw shooter overall for the year — 88 percent, I believe, for the year. He’s a really, really talented player.
He’s [Ven Lubin] been phenomenal, and, obviously big 24 [Samet Yigitoglu] will be a big, big challenge. 24 is physical and huge and ducks in, and he does a lot of things that help them win. So it’ll be a big challenge for Ven, but Ven’s answered every challenge. “
Opponent Overview:
SMU was voted to finish 6th in the ACC.
Andy Enfield is an interesting guy. He played at Johns Hopkins and at one time held the NCAA all-divisions career free throw percentage record at 92.5%. He was a shot doctor for the Bucks in the NBA, he spent a few seasons as an assistant for Leonard Hamilton at FSU – helping them make the Sweet 16, he introduced the world to Florida Gulf Coast getting them to the Sweet 16 in 2013, and until last season he was one of the most successful coaches in USC history for 13 years. Last season he jumped to Dallas and the Mustangs were 24-11 and were a #1 seed in the NIT.
Coach Enfield returns three starters from last season, senior Miller (2nd season at SMU, transferred from WF), senior Edwards (3rd season at SMU, transferred from Tenn), and sophomore Turkish center Yigitoglu from Euro pro ball.
The other two starters are transfers: Pierre from Jacksonville State, CUSA POY and Washington, from Wichita St, second team All-AAC.
Opponent Snapshot:
- Record: 15-6, 4-4
- Rankings: KP #36, BT #34
- NET: 34 (Q1: 3-5, Q2: 3-1, Q3: 2-0, Q4: 7-0) – 7th highest NET in the ACC
Their Season So Far:
The Mustangs are coming off an 88-74 loss at Louisville Saturday. SMU was in charge for the first 25 minutes of the game. They started the game 14-4, led by as much as 12, and held a 47-44 lead at the halfway point. At about the 10-minute mark, SMU took the lead 62-61, then Louisville did what they do. They went on a 10-0 run, and the Mustangs couldn’t catch them again. Statistically the teams were close with the key differentiators being free throw shooting, Louisville shot 23 and made 16, to SMU’s making 6 of 9. And points off turnovers, Louisville forced 16 turnovers and made 18 points off them. SMU forced 11 and made 13 points.
Player Notes
- Boopie Miller is the 8th leading scorer in ACC play
- The Boopster is also 3rd in assists in ACC play and 11th in asst / turnover ratio
- Samet Yigitoglu (7’2”) is 6th in blocked shots in ACC play
- BJ Edwards leads the ACC in steals in ACC play
What to watch for:
- NCST – trends to watch
- Winning streak – The Wolfpack is on a 4-game winning streak. Best ACC start since 2003. (caveat: they played the easier ACC games first)
- Road Warriors – NC State is undefeated on the road in ACC play, 5-0.
- Darrion Williams – Positive trend: Back-to-back 20+ point games including hitting 5 3PT shots (second highest 3PT-M on the season) in each game. Negative trend: 5 turnovers in each game, most in games this season. Keep an eye on his ankle, he appeared to twist it in the second half and sat out the remainder of the game from the under 12 TV timeout. CWW said he could have played if needed, but the game was in hand.
- Tre Holloman – Had his best game in ACC play. Best FG% (50%), most 3PT made (3), most points (11), most assists (3), and zero turnovers in 28 minutes.
- Expect a Scottie sighting! – SMU’s big man, Yigitoglu, is a 7’2” handful. He’s averaging about 30 mins per game in ACC play and can whip out a double-double if you aren’t paying attention. I think we’ll see Musa deployed heavily to make him work harder (and picking up a few fouls), and Scottie makes his triumphant return to the court.
- NCST – record watch – McNeil has 70 made 3PT shots after 22 games. He’s averaging 3.18 per game, tracking for 98 in the regular season. DJ Horne’s record is 105 (88 reg. season, 17 post season)
- SMU – shooting – FG% – 4th highest in ACC play, 3PT% 2nd highest in ACC play
- SMU – weakness – scoring defense – 15th most points allowed in ACC play
- SMU – strength – blocked shots – 5th most per game in ACC play
- SMU – Career High Watch – Boop, Boop, Boop –Kevin “Boopie” Miller is one of the most dynamic players in the ACC, if not the country. He has scored double figures in every game and had 20+ in 10 games. He’s had double digit assists 5 times – including against UNC. For those keeping score, his career highs are 31 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds.
Prediction:
NC State starts slow (surprise!) and the Mustangs do not. The Wolfpack gets in a 10+ point hole early but closes the gap by the half. Both teams come out of the break hitting shots. The Pack slowly creeps ahead and closes strong, NC State wins 80-69.
