The NC State men’s basketball team dropped its third game in a row Sunday night against Georgia Tech, 86-76, in PNC Arena. With this loss, the team’s record falls to 12-6 overall and 1-4 in ACC play.
Balloons provided for the purpose of cheerleading turned into popping props for frustrated students as the clock ran out on the Pack’s comeback attempt. Coincidentally, the team’s hopes of reaching the postseason may have also burst with this unexpected loss. Now tied for last place in ACC standings, the group faces an uphill battle to even get into the NCAA tournament conversation.
The performance of the defense continues to be the Achilles’ heel for the Pack as an anemic Yellow Jackets (11-6, 3-2 ACC) offense managed to shoot 49.2 percent from the floor on NC State’s home court. Head coach Mark Gottfried expressed disappointment in the defensive effort after the game.
“Our team better learn how to get a little tougher, bottom line,” Gottfried said. “And we’re gonna have to make a decision at some point whether or not we’re gonna guard anybody. Right now we’re struggling to guard anyone and it’s frustrating.”
Georgia Tech came into Sunday’s game last in the conference in 3-point shooting percentage and with a season-high of seven made attempts, yet shot 62.5 percent (10 of 16) on shots from deep, turning what had been a strength of the Pack’s defense — perimeter pressure — into a weakness.
“I don’t want to take anything away from [Georgia Tech] because they made shots today, but I would venture that … out of the 16 they took, on 12 or 13 of them they could have tested the wind,” Gottfried said. “They had that much time to get the shots off. Whether it was against our man defense or zone defense, it didn’t matter.”
Trying to cut down on the turnovers that were so prevalent in its previous two losses, the Wolfpack got off to a bad start but finished strong. Freshman point guard Dennis Smith Jr. turned it over on the team’s first possession and two more Pack turnovers followed shortly thereafter, but strong transition defense prevented Georgia Tech from capitalizing on either. The Pack was far more sure-handed after that point, turning the ball over just four times over the final 29 minutes of the game.
While turnovers could not be blamed for NC State’s struggles on offense, lack of effective ball movement proved to be a huge difference-maker between the two teams. Georgia Tech assisted on 77 percent of field goals — the Wolfpack, just 46 percent. While Smith amassed six assists, the rest of the team’s backcourt combined for just two in total.
Smith was the star of the show, finishing with 31 points, eight rebounds, as well as a pair of blocks and steals. It remains a question, however, if his performance is coming at the sacrifice of the team’s big men, who combined for just 13 points on 16 shots.
In three games since his 9 for 9, 20-point effort against Virginia Tech, junior forward Abdul-Malik Abu has shot just 37.9 percent from the field and turned the ball over nine times. Freshman center Omer Yurtseven has also been ice cold from the field, connecting on just four of 16 attempts. This has resulted in dwindling minutes for the freshman, but the beneficiary, Beejay Anya, hasn’t exactly provided a spark on either end of the court.
NC State’s combination of Smith and sophomore Maverick Rowan simply could not keep up with Georgia Tech’s scoring in the second half, as an 18-7 run with 11:11 remaining put the Yellow Jackets up by 13. This run included one of two stretches in the second half where the Wolfpack went scoreless for more than three minutes. After shooting 45.2 percent in the first half, the team fell to just 40.6 percent from the floor by the game’s end.
When a team isn’t playing strong defense, it’s difficult to get away with such a poor shooting performance, especially at home. The Wolfpack clearly has a lot of talent, including a likely NBA lottery pick in Smith, but time is running out to figure out its identity as a team.
“There’s a lot of basketball left,” Gottfried said. “We can attain everything that we want to attain; go to the NCAA Tournament, all of that stuff. But at some point, we’re gonna have to make a decision to play defense.”
NC State faces off against Pittsburgh (12-6, 1-4 ACC) on Tuesday at PNC Arena. Both teams come in on three-game losing streaks, hoping to turn around their seasons’ downward spirals.
Redshirt-sophomore guard Terry Henderson bodies out a Georgia Tech player. The NC State basketball team lost to Georgia Tech 76-86 at PNC Arena on Jan. 15.
