Emma Sheppard
Junior guard Markell Johnson makes a fast break to the net during the NIT in Reynolds Coliseum on Tuesday, March 19. Johnson shot 9-16 from the field and contributed a team-high 26 points to the 84-78 win over Hofstra.
NC State men’s basketball will host Harvard in the second round of the NIT at Reynolds Coliseum following the team’s first round victory over Hofstra.
The Wolfpack (23-11) took down Hofstra in the first round by a score of 84-78, while its Ivy League opponent took down Georgetown by a score of 71-68 in its first round game.
The Crimson (19-11) finished the Ivy League in first place, tied with Yale. The Crimson had beat Yale twice in the regular season but lost out to the Bulldogs in the Ivy League Tournament Final.
Much like the Wolfpack’s first round opponents, the Crimson has one player who it relies on for a majority of its scoring. Junior guard Bryce Aiken averages 22.4 points per game this season, more than double the next highest scorer on the Harvard roster.
Aiken, who had been injured for almost a full calendar year, made his return early in the Crimson’s conference schedule and has been the team’s best player since. The 6-foot guard has scored over 30 points on four occasions this season, which is made even more impressive when one considers he has only played 13 games this season.
Harvard’s key man will be matching up against the Wolfpack’s own high scoring junior guard Markell Johnson. Johnson averages a full 10 fewer points per game than Aiken, but in post-season games this season Johnson averages 20.7 points a game, including 26 in the team’s first round NIT win over Hofstra.
One factor that has had an impact on both teams’ success this season is their coaches’ willingness to go to the bench, and get good minutes from those players who come off the bench. Both teams have eight different players who average over 15 minutes per game.
For the Wolfpack, the two main scorers off the bench are redshirt sophomores forward DJ Funderburk and guard Devon Daniels who average 9.0 and 9.2 points per game, respectively.
Funderburk, who is the more offensively skilled of the two Wolfpack big men, has had difficulties with staying out of foul trouble which often can limit his minutes in important games. The forward has fouled out of six different games this season, but when he can stay out of foul trouble he is a fantastic asset to the Wolfpack’s offense.
Daniels, much like Funderburk, also sometimes struggles for minutes despite his ability once in the game. For Daniels however the issue isn’t fouls, it’s the players in front of him. While the guard is a decent scorer and a solid rebounder, he has to compete for a spot on the court with the Wolfpack’s best including the team’s three highest scorers in Johnson, redshirt senior guard Torin Dorn, and redshirt junior guard C.J. Bryce.
The aforementioned trio averages a combined 36.6 points per game across the entire season, but in the Wolfpack’s three postseason games this season that number rises to 41. This includes the trio’s combined 63 points against Hofstra.
If the Wolfpack can find a way to stop Aiken and its own high-flying trio can continue to score at will, the Wolfpack should advance to the NIT quarter final round where it would face the winner of UNC-Greensboro and Lipscomb.
The game will tip off in Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPNU.