NC State men’s basketball will face another tough challenge at home against No. 8 Florida State Saturday, Feb. 22 at PNC Arena, just three days after taking down No. 6 Duke.
The Wolfpack’s (17-9, 8-7 ACC) 22-point blowout upset over Duke was its biggest win of the season, keeping NC State’s NCAA Tournament dreams alive and could solidify that spot more with another upset against the Seminoles (22-4, 12-3 ACC).
Florida State has won five of its last six games, and its only loss came against Duke. Florida State’s undefeated at home this year and its four losses have only come on the road which is a positive sign for NC State, which has a strong home-court advantage.
Senior guard Markell Johnson just had the greatest came of his collegiate career against Duke and truly stepped up as a mature leader. He almost finished with a double-double but had 28 points (his career high), nine rebounds, four assists and only one turnover. Redshirt junior guard Devon Daniels has been consistently performing for the Pack and now has seven double-digit scoring games in a row with his 25 points and nine boards.
Redshirt junior forward D.J. Funderburk also had a key performance in the post against Duke, dropping 21 points, grabbing nine boards and adding on three steals. The Wolfpack managed to beat Duke by 22 while not having redshirt senior guard C.J. Bryce and sophomore forward Jericole Hellems reach the double digits. If at least three out of the five players aforementioned can score at least near 15 points a game and role players do their job, NC State can beat almost any team in the country.
However, one thing needs to go well for this to happen, and that’s 3-point shooting. The main reason NC State’s offense was thriving against Duke was the 61.5% 3-point shooting, which is absolutely incredible considering the Wolfpack is shooting 32.4% from that range on the season. NC State has only lost one game all year while shooting over 35% from 3-point range, which was against Georgia Tech in the home opener when the Wolfpack was missing key players Johnson and Funderburk. In some ways, NC State has somewhat “lived by the 3 and died by the 3” this season.
Florida State is going to be an extremely tough matchup for NC State, because of its defensive tenacity and solid 3-point shooting. The Seminoles have thrived all season in on-ball defense, averaging 9.1 steals per game and 5.6 blocks per game. Also, according to Kenpom, FSU has the 16th most efficient defense in the nation. Florida State is also shooting an impressive 36.4% from deep this season forcing teams to try to keep up from beyond the arc.
Although Florida State forces many turnovers, its aggressive defense has led to lapses which tend to leave shooters open. In each of its four losses, Florida State was outshot from 3-point range in percentage, and in three out of four of the games, allowed the opponent to shoot over 40% from deep. So, the key to beating Florida State is to battle beyond the arc offensively and limit turnovers against its steal-hungry defense.
To focus on this key, players to watch from Florida State are guards Devin Vassell and Trent Forrest. Vassell leads the team in scoring with 13.0 points per game and shoots a dangerous 41.8% from deep. Forrest has been a great two-way player this year, averaging 11.6 points per game and 2.1 steals per game. This guard duo combines for 3.5 steals per game, which will be a hassle for the NC State backcourt. These players have been huge contributors for the Seminoles this season and the Pack needs to make them uncomfortable on the court.
The tipoff will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 at PNC Arena and will be televised on the ACC Network. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates and recaps.
