The NC State men’s basketball team had a disappointing showing in the ACC Tournament, falling in its first game to Boston College, 91-87.
The Wolfpack (21-11, 11-7 ACC) had high expectations heading into the tournament after a season that saw the Pack finish fifth in the ACC regular season and secure a first-round bye in the tournament. Add in a potential second-round matchup with Clemson, which the Wolfpack had already beat this year, and Wolfpack Nation was looking to the stars.
Those expectations crashed and burned at the hands of the buzz saw that is the Boston College backcourt of Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman. Robinson, the ACC Player of the Year runner-up and a member of the All-ACC First-Team and Bowman, an All-ACC honorable mention, combined for 50 points, including the game-winner from Robinson.
Here are three takeaways from the Wolfpack’s short stint in the ACC Tournament:
Defense… optional?
NC State was overmatched on defense possession after possession. Robinson and Bowman tormented sophomore guard Markell Johnson and freshman guard Braxton Beverly all game, torching the young Wolfpack backcourt for 50 points on 17-for-39 shooting, most of which was in and around the paint; Robinson and Bowman hit a combined three 3-pointers.
The struggles didn’t end in the backcourt. Sophomore center Omer Yurtseven was consistently beat off the pick-and-roll by Robinson and Bowman, and if Yurtseven wasn’t forced to switch onto either of them, he was getting beat on the roll by BC center Nic Popovic.
The Wolfpack picked a bad game to have one of its worst defensive showings of the year, especially coming against, arguably, the best backcourt in the ACC.
Abysmal free-throw shooting killed the Pack
The Wolfpack lost to Boston College by four points; it also left seven points at the free-throw line. NC State shot 15 free throws and converted only eight of them for a 53.3 percent clip.
On the other side of things, Boston College shot an excellent 16 for 19 from the free-throw line, draining 84.2 percent of its free opportunities. The Eagles’ free-throw success was mainly a result of the play of, you guessed it, Robinson and Bowman. The two combined to go 13 for 14 from the line.
If the Pack wants to repeat its 2015 NCAA Tournament magic, it is going to have to turn its free-throw shooting around as soon as possible.
3-point shooting on fire
It wasn’t all negatives for the Wolfpack; led by graduate transfer guards Al Freeman and Sam Hunt, the Wolfpack continued its torrid 3-point shooting.
NC State shot 11 for 21 from the 3-point line, knocking down its treys at an excellent 52.4 percent mark. Towards the end of the game, with the Wolfpack in a race against time to overcome a deficit that got as high at 17 points in the second half, Freeman and Hunt hit clutch three after clutch three. At one point in the game, on back-to-back Wolfpack possessions, Freeman hit step-back 3-pointers to tie the game up.
Freeman went 5 for 7 and Hunt went 4 for 6, and the duo will have to maintain their hot 3-point shooting if the Wolfpack is to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
