New Year’s Eve Hoops! NC State Hosts Wake Forest

When: Wednesday December 31 – 12:00 PM

Where: Lenovo Center

TV: ESPN2

Opponent: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): NC State 85-76 / NC State 86-76

Wolfpack Snapshot:

• Record: 9-4, 0-0

• Rankings: KP #27, BT #26

• NET Ranking: NET 32, 6th in ACC Conf NET rankings

• NET performance: Q1 (1-3), Q2 (2-1), Q3 (2-0), Q4 (4-0)

Advertisement

Wolfpack Season So Far:

Coach Wade after the Ole Miss win:

“We’re not where we need to be. We’re not where we want to be. But we’re better than we were. We’re not who we’re going to be. “

“But when we get back on the 26th, I mean, we’ve got massive amounts of work that we’ve got to do. We’ve got massive amounts of improvement that we have to make.“

“… we need some guys to step up. I mean, that’s just what it is. We played seven guys, basically, today. I played the seven guys I feel most comfortable with. The seven guys that give me confidence. The seven guys, basically, that I trust. You know, hopefully Santa brings me an eighth man for Christmas.” 

Advertisement

What’s On the Line?

ACC Net Rankings:

• Top third (NET): Duke (3), UNC (15), Lou (17), UVA (24), SMU (31), NCS (32)

• Middle third (NET): Mia (35), Clem (36), Cal (48), VT (61), WF (67), ND (79)

• Bottom third (NET): Stan (83), Syr (89), Pitt (116), FSU (128), GT (179), BC (184)

1. This is a Q2 game. Q2 wins carry weight in the post season conversation.

2. Protecting the home court in ACC play

3. Q1 coming up! Currently UVA (on Saturday), Duke and UNC are our our 3 opportunities for Q1 wins on our home court. If we want to avoid another ‘fingers crossed’ Selection Sunday, this is one we need to win.

Opponent Overview:

Coach Steve Forbes has not yet made the NCAA tournament during his tenure at Wake. He’s a well respected coach, but he’s beginning to show up in some of the hot list conversations.

ACC preseason voters picked Wake Forest to finish 11^th

Wake lost Hunter Sallis (76ers), Efton Reid (Finland), and Cam Hildreth (G League) from last season’s 21-11 team that missed the post season.

Key Transfers Added:

• Nate Calmese – Wash State – WF badly needed a PG, he’s their answer

• Mehki Mason – Washington – WF was weak from 3PT last season, he’s their answer

• Myles Colvin – Purdue – ‘Fingers crossed’ player, he was buried on Purdue’s roster, hoping he’ll add scoring

• Cooper Schwieger – Valparaiso – Intended as Efton Reid’s replacement

• Sebastian Akins – Denver – backup PG

Opponent Snapshot:

• Record: 9-4, 0-0

• Rankings: KP #58, BT #56

• NET Ranking: NET 67 , 11th in ACC Conf NET rankings

• NET performance: Q1 (0-3), Q2 (1-1), Q3 (1-0), Q4 (7-0)

Their season so far:

Player Notes

• Juke Harris is 5^th in the ACC in scoring

• Tre’Von Spillers is 5^th in the ACC in FG%, and 7^th in blocked shots

• Nate Calmese is 8^th in the ACC in assists per game and 4^th in asst/to ratio

What to Watch for:

• EMBARRASSING STAT OF THE DAY – Three Point Shot Defense – KenPom ranks the Deacs #355 and the Wolfpack #356 for percent 3PT shots allowed. (Reminder: Only 365 teams on the list!)

• WF strength – Steals: Ranks 2nd in the ACC in steals, KP ranks them 27th.

• WF weakness – Offense: Ranks 14th in FG%, 15th in opponent FG%, and 14th in 3PT% in the ACC

• WF weakness – Rebounding: Ranks 15^th in the ACC in rebounding; 8^th Offensive / 16^th Defensive

• WF weakness – Defense: Ranks 16th in the ACC in scoring defense

• NCS – Darrion Williams: Expect his third double-double of the season. After skipping the Texas Southern game altogether and going ‘o-fer’ against Ole Miss, D5 is well rested and ready to play.

• NCS – Rotation: The Wolfpack primarily played a 7-man rotation against Ole Miss. (plus – Able 7 mins, Ebube 3) Breed started at SG, Holloman and Sagnia were the primary subs. That’s a workable model, Sagnia has played alongside Lubin as well as subbing for him. Holloman can play both point guard and shooting guard well. On most days, Able is a solid sub for McNeil. And Scottie provides a few minutes of excellent entertainment value. CWW is hoping to find an 8th man he trusts to give 10+ minutes per game. Currently Able, who leads the team in steals and (KP ranks 69th in steal percentage) and is 6th in rebounding and points, is the most likely candidate.

Prediction: Wake gets hot and keeps it close in the first half, the Pack has too many turnovers, but the Wolfpack tightens things up at halftime and rides a double digit lead most of the second half. Final score, Pack 80-69.