AUBURN, Ala. — In the wake of the NC State men’s basketball team’s 79-73 loss on the road to No. 12 Auburn, a handful of statistics stood out. Here are some numbers that helped shape the game that you may not find in an average box score.
28 – The number of fouls NC State committed in what was a tightly-officiated game. Redshirt junior guard Devon Daniels and redshirt senior guard C.J. Bryce each fouled out, and sophomore forward Jericole Hellems, junior guard Braxton Beverly and senior guard Markell Johnson each had four fouls.
22 – The number of fouls committed by Auburn as the Tigers nearly matched the Wolfpack foul for foul throughout the game. Ticky-tack fouls were called all game, and neither team was able to settle down and play without fouling.
2 – The number of assists by anyone not named Markell Johnson. The senior guard dished out 10 assists, while the rest of the team struggled to create offense and make plays for others, constantly stagnating in the half court. When Johnson was forced to the bench due to foul trouble, the offense’s lack of playmakers was its undoing against an athletic Auburn defense.
35 – Both teams’ combined number of turnovers. For as tightly officiated as the game was, it was equally sloppy. With NC State’s 18 giveaways and Auburn’s 17, both teams struggled to take care of the rock in an exciting, fast-paced game.
8 – Free throws missed by the Wolfpack, as NC State left eight points at the charity stripe in what wound up a six-point game. Led by Johnson’s six misses, the Wolfpack struggled to take advantage of its potential free points.
0:50 – Amount of time NC State led in the second half. Despite trailing by just one point at halftime and tying the game up multiple times throughout the second half, the Wolfpack led for just 50 seconds in the final 20 minutes, briefly taking a 64-62 lead on a layup by Beverly.
7.5 – NC State’s closing underdog spread that it covered on a last-second, garbage-time layup from Johnson. After two Auburn free throws gave the Tigers an insurmountable 8-point lead with only 10 seconds left, Johnson went coast to coast and laid it in right before the buzzer to cover the Wolfpack’s spread.
151 – The closing point total in Vegas for the game that Johnson’s layup made go over. Although the teams had combined for just 136 with under a minute and a half remaining, a flurry of 3-pointers, layups and free throws contributed 16 points in the final 81 seconds to hit the over for sports bettors.
