The NC State men’s basketball team (3-0) will look to remain undefeated in nonconference play when the team plays the Maine Black Bears (0-3) on Nov. 17. The Pack is playing with a high-octane offense to begin the year, averaging 100 points per game to start the year. While the first three games were against weaker competition, the high-scoring games were exciting for a State fan to watch.
The Black Bears are winless to begin the year, with their leading scorer being guard Isaiah White at 13.3 points per game. To put the differences in scoring into perspective, the Pack has six players that score more per-40 minutes than White does per-40 minutes. On top of this, the Wolfpack has nine of the top ten scorers per-40 minutes from either team.
Last season, Maine finished with a record of 6-26 under head coach Bob Walsh, but at the end of the season Walsh and Maine separated. Maine hired Richard Barron to replace Walsh but has still started the season with disappointing results.
White and Andrew Fleming return from last year’s squad and are the two leading scorers for the Black Bears. White also averages 3.3 rebounds and shoots nearly 38 percent from beyond the arc. Fleming on the other hand averages 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and plays the most minutes of anyone on the team at 36 minutes per game.
For the Pack, redshirt senior guard Torin Dorn has led the way for the most part, averaging 21 points per game and nine rebounds per game. Redshirt junior guard C.J. Bryce, redshirt sophomore guard Devon Daniels and redshirt sophomore forward DJ Funderburk have had nice starts to the season as well, averaging 12.3, 11.3 and 11 points per game respectively.
Funderburk began the season shooting 13-for-15, so it will be interesting to see if Funderburk can keep up his high efficiency.
Starting junior guard Markell Johnson sustained a head injury in the 100-49 blowout win over UNC-Asheville, and it is remained to be seen if Johnson will be available for this game. If Johnson does not play, sophomore guard Braxton Beverly, who recently returned from injury himself, is the most likely candidate to start in his place. Beverly is comfortable running the point, with three assists per game to start the season, and is a solid scorer in place of Johnson, who is averaging 10.5 points per game on 50 percent scoring, and seven threes attempted per game.
The Pack will need to keep firing on all cylinders and secure another blowout to maintain the confidence of all players on the roster, especially as the team moves into the tougher portion of its schedule.
The game tips off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17 at PNC Arena or can be watched from home on the ACC Network Extra.
