The NC State men’s basketball team will take on Illinois Tuesday night as part of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Fighting Illini will host the Wolfpack at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.
NC State (5-1) and Illinois (4-3) have met just three times before, and have never played in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Illini hold a 3-0 advantage over the Pack, with the last meeting coming in 1995. The Wolfpack enters the game coming off of back-to-back wins. The Illini have lost three straight, all in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.
The ACC/Big Ten Challenge dates back to 1999, as this year’s installment will be the 18th time the event has taken place. The ACC won the first 10 challenges, and holds the overall advantage at 10-5-2. The Big Ten has the hot hand though, winning five of the last seven years and having not lost the event since 2008.
NC State is 6-10 all time in the event, and is coming off of two-straight losses to Purdue in 2014 and Michigan in 2015. Illinois is 7-10 in the challenge, but has dropped its game in each of the last three seasons.
The Wolfpack has been led by the strong play of its trio of starting guards so far this season. Freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr. is averaging 19.8 PPG as well as 5.5 assists per game. Redshirt senior Terry Henderson and redshirt sophomore Torin Dorn are both averaging 17.8 PPG for State, and Dorn is also pulling in an average of 6.3 rebounds per game.
The forwards for State are a different story so far this season. Junior Abdul-Malik Abu has played well this season, averaging 13.8 PPG and 8.3 rebounds per game. However, aside from Abu the Pack has gotten very little contribution from the other forwards. Senior Beejay Anya is averaging just 2.8 rebounds per game to go along with his 3.8 PPG.
State has been without a few key forwards for a number of the games this season, and this has definitely contributed to its struggle in the paint. Freshman Omer Yurtseven has not played this season as he has been serving a nine-game suspension. Sophomore Maverick Rowan had 17 points and nine rebounds in the season opener against Georgia Southern, but has missed the last five games with a concussion.
The other forward State has missed at points this season is freshman Ted Kapita. Kapita missed the first game of the season due to eligibility concerns, and missed all three of the team’s games in St. Thomas during the Paradise Jam due to issues with his student visa. However, Kapita has shown promise in the games he has played this year, scoring 17 and pulling in 8 rebounds off of the bench against St. Francis.
Without Yurtseven and possibly Rowan again, State’s struggles on the board could continue against the Illini who have outrebounded opponents 269-244 this season. Illinois has three players averaging over six rebounds per game, with guard Malcolm Hill leading the way at 7.3 per game. Hill is also the leading scorer for the Illini, averaging 18.3 PPG.
Another key player for the Illini is forward Leron Black. Black missed the first four games of the season due to suspension, but has averaged 8.0 rebounds per game over the last three games to go along with his 10.3 PPG. Illinois has also gotten big contributions from forward Michael Finke, who is pulling in over six rebounds per game and 11.0 PPG.
State should have no problem scoring in this game, as Smith Jr., Henderson and Dorn should have their way with an Illinois defense that has struggled to keep teams off of the board in the last few games. However, if the Illini can dominate the boards they could take control of the game.
