Wolfpack to be tested by talented Virginia squad

The post-Braxton Beverly buzzer-beater party might be short lived for NC State men’s basketball as the team has to turn its attention toward No. 3 Virginia, which travels to PNC Arena on Tuesday.

The Cavaliers (18-1, 6-1 ACC) have started conference play in fine fashion with their sole loss coming from Duke, the only ACC team ranked higher in the AP Top 25.

The ability of this Virginia team isn’t up for debate, however its 6-1 start to ACC play should be taken with a grain of salt. The Cavaliers have played just two games against teams currently with winning records in ACC play and are 1-1 in those games, the aforementioned loss to the No. 2 ranked Blue Devils and a 22-point win over Virginia Tech, which has started ACC play at 5-2.

“It is going to be a tough challenging game,” sophomore guard Braxton Beverly said. “We’ve just got to stay true to who we are. I overheard coach saying, ‘they aren’t going to be different, they are going to do what Virginia does.’ We’ve just got to do what NC State does, pressure the ball, make it a fast-paced game the best we can.”

The Wolfpack will struggle on the boards Tuesday as the Cavaliers usually start two big men, Mamadi Diakite at 6-foot-9 and Jack Salt at 6-foot-10. When compared to the usual Wolfpack starters, only graduate forward Wyatt Walker at 6-foot-9 compares to the Virginia front court. The Wolfpack’s second tallest starter is either redshirt senior Torin Dorn or redshirt junior C.J. Bryce, who are both listed at 6-foot-5.

For head coach Kevin Keatts, one possible solution could be playing both redshirt sophomore forward DJ Funderburk with Walker, however, Keatts prefers to use his two big men in rotation rather than as a duo.

“Those are the two guys that we have of size,” Keatts said. “I want to be able to rotate both of those guys in. We tried a bit last year with Lennard [Freeman] and Omer [Yurtseven] and Malik [Abu] but we had three. We really only have two bigs. So for the most part you will likely see four guards and one of those guys on the floor.”

With Keatts preferring to separate his big men, the responsibility of guarding Diakite, who averages just under seven points a game, could fall to freshman forward Jericole Hellems. The 6-foot-7 freshman is, apart from Funderburk, the best matchup for Diakite in terms of build.

Virginia’s guard Kyle Guy, the shortest of their starters, is listed at 6-foot-2, which would be a difficult matchup for the Wolfpack’s 3-point specialist Beverly.

The previously mentioned Guy scores a team-high 15 points a game, a majority of which come from behind the arc. Guy makes up one part of Virginia’s triumvirate of scorers, the other members of which are fellow guards De’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome, who average 14.7 and 13.1 points per game, respectively.

“Hunter is playing the three and he could play the four or he could play the five,” Keatts said. “Their front line is as big any NBA front line and they are skilled and they are athletic and very physical.”

Jerome, who is the main ball carrier for the Cavaliers, is no slouch defensively with 31 steals on the season. Junior guard Markell Johnson, who just returned from an injury suffered against Pitt earlier this month, will likely be guarded by the 6-foot-5 Jerome and may find scoring opportunities few and far between if he is not back up to full fitness after his injury.

However, Johnson did look to already be back up to full speed during the minutes he played against Clemson, but two games in four days will really put the guard’s fitness to the test after his injury.

One of the consistent struggles for the Wolfpack this season has been staying out of foul trouble. NC State’s opponents have shot a total of 463 free throws this season compared to the Wolfpack’s 371 and it has cost them this season. Louisville, who beat the Wolfpack by just seven, scored 24 points from the line. Wake Forest, who won by just four, scored 23 points from the line. In comparison, the Wolfpack scored just 12 points from the line combined in these two games.

There are two things the Wolfpack needs to do if it wants to have a chance at taking down the joint-top ACC team. The guards need to limit Virginia’s 3-point shooters as all the three leading scorers for the Cavaliers are 40 percent-plus shooters from beyond the arc. Lastly the bigs need to play smart and not foul. If either Walker or Funderburk pick up a few early fouls, it will be a very difficult game for the Wolfpack.

“Our challenge is that we are going to try and play the way we continue to play,” Keatts said. “We are a pressing team and the challenge is that we have to be able to score the basketball to get into presses.”

The game will be broadcast on ESPN 2 with the opening tip set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday.