NC State men’s basketball took on the No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers as part of the Hall of Fame Series in San Antonio, Texas. The Wolfpack suffered a 79-70 loss to Tennessee in a mostly back-and-forth contest. This is the second-straight win over NC State for Tennessee after losing the previous four matchups.
The Wolfpack (7-4, 1-0 ACC) failed to capitalize on a resume-building win against a nationally-ranked Volunteers’ squad (8-3) that ranks 12th in the country and what many believe is a national championship contender. It was a one-possession game with just under four minutes to go, but Tennessee knocked down clutch threes and free throws down the stretch to seal the Pack’s fate.
It looked like the red-and-white were outmatched to start the game when the Volunteers opened up the contest on a 7-2 run, but NC State quickly settled in, due in large part to graduate guard DJ Horne. The Arizona State transfer knocked down three 3-pointers in just under three minutes to help the Pack take the lead and fend off Tennessee’s hot start.
Horne’s quick start came as no surprise given he was coming off a 22-point performance against UT Martin, where he made six 3-pointers. He finished the first half against the Volunteers with 13 points on 3-5 shooting from beyond the arc and was the only NC State player in double-digit points after 20 minutes.
Besides Horne, neither side could find an offensive rhythm in the first half with both teams shooting under 40% from the field and combining for 14 turnovers. NC State played exceptional defense on the Volunteers’ best player guard Dalton Knecht, limiting him to just two points on 1-5 shooting in the first half. Knecht entered the game averaging 18 points per game, but the Pack guarded him aggressively and forced him into tough shots.
While the Wolfpack successfully locked down Tennessee’s best player, this allowed other players to thrive with most of the attention on Knecht. Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler was a thorn in the Pack’s side all night, using his speed and deep range to pick apart the defense. Zeigler went into halftime with a season-high 11 points to go along with four assists.
After Horne took the lead for the Pack, it was a back-and-forth first half with each team making runs, but the Volunteers hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to head into the locker room with a 34-31 advantage.
Tennessee built off the momentum it gained at the end of the first half, scoring the first five points of the second frame with all five courtesy of former All-SEC guard Santiago Vescovi. Much like the first, the Pack responded, but instead of Horne, it was graduate forward DJ Burns who kept the Pack in it.
Burns was much more aggressive to start the second half after only scoring four points in the first frame. It didn’t matter who was guarding him because he was determined to get the ball in the basket; at one point, he scored six straight for NC State to cut the deficit to 46-44 with just under 15 minutes left.
Just when everyone thought the Wolfpack had seized the momentum, Tennessee went on a 9-0 run to stretch its lead to 55-44 with just over 12 minutes left. Zeigler continued to punish the Pack in the second half, scoring or assisting on every basket of the Volunteers’ run.
The Pack answered back with an 11-1 run to make it a 56-55 deficit with just under nine minutes left in the game. Junior forward Ben Middlebrooks grabbed two offensive rebounds during this stretch that directly resulted in six points for the Wolfpack.
For most of the next five minutes, each side traded blows with the lead never going above four points. Burns was a key asset for the Pack during this stretch, finishing the game with a season-high five assists.
What hurt the Pack over the course of the game was defending the 3-point line. Tennessee finished the game with 12 3-pointers and Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James was especially lethal from downtown, making five of his seven attempts from three. James helped close out the game for the Volunteers by knocking down clutch threes en route to a season-high 23 points.
A cold spell on offense from the Pack and knock-down free throw shooting from the Volunteers allowed Tennessee to come out on top and prevent NC State from the upset bid. It failed to add to its NCAA tournament resume, but the Wolfpack showed the ability to compete with the best in college basketball.
Junior guard Kam Woods made his season debut against Tennessee due to an NCAA ruling made earlier in the week. Woods was not previously allowed to play because he is a second-time transfer, but the NCAA ruled that second-time transfers are immediately eligible, opening up the opportunity for Woods. The NC A&T transfer played 18 minutes and finished with nine points and four rebounds while playing key minutes late in the second half.
The Pack returns to PNC Arena for its next game, when it faces off against Saint Louis on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game can be found on ACC Network Extra.
