Jalon Moore scored a season-high 17 points with nine rebounds in the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 17. (photo by Danny Karnik)
It shouldn’t have surprised anyone when North Carolina’s Armando Bacot earned the bulk of the votes for Preseason ACC Player of the Year.
But still. Terquavion Smith… one vote? After averaging 18 points in conference play as a freshman? After returning to N.C. State despite a first-round projection in the NBA Draft?
Those tabulations may look even more out of whack next month. The ACC’s leading scorer (19.1 ppg), Smith continues to build a compelling case for Player of the Year, with 32 points against Florida State Wednesday and 25 against the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. When he’s not using hesi’s galore to long-stride into the lane, he’s lacing deep threes if teams lay underneath screens. He’s also increasingly skilled at firing kickout passes to teammates.
Along with 6-1 Jarkel Joiner, who poured in 19 points against Tech in January, NC State has a pair of aggressive, athletic guards on ball screens who shoot with unbridled confidence. There’s no magic formula to stopping them other than making them earn their points. NC State runs a no-frills, ball screen- and DHO-heavy offense, though they’re running it with high levels of swagger and self-belief.
Josh Pastner said his defense needs to force more turnovers, but Tech did hassle N.C. State into its second highest turnover rate of the season in Atlanta (21.2%). That’s noteworthy because the Wolfpack have since climbed to second nationally in turnover rate (13.6%). Getting Lance Terry back should give Tech another flytrap defender who can rotate on Smith or Joiner.
*****
Tech led NC State 18-8 by the 15:05 mark of the first half in Atlanta.
What made that so impressive? NC State could stake a claim as the best starting team in the ACC:
| Opponent |
Lead |
| Miami |
25-13 |
| Duke |
15-0 |
| Virginia Tech |
13-2 |
| Florida State |
30-4 |
No other ACC team has led State by that much, that early, in the first half.
*****
For the first time in a while, Georgia Tech didn’t lament a lack of free throw attempts. This time, they lamented not making them.
The Jackets’ comeback effort in Louisville was spoiled by 12 of 20 free throw shooting in the second half. They could have a shot at some redemption in Raleigh: NC State is still allowing the highest percentage of opponents’ points to come off free throws in ACC play.
| % of points from free throws (ACC only) |
| NC State defense |
23.2% |
| Georgia Tech offense |
12.9% |
That high free throw rate is a function of NC State’s aggressiveness on defense: The Wolfpack like to sit in passing lanes and slap and swipe at ballhandlers. They also play a full-court press that may not always produce turnovers, but can have a diminishing effect on opposing backcourts. If teams break it, though, it can create opportunities for 3-on-2 or 2-on-1 attacks to the rim.
The Wolfpack’s hectic defensive style also coerces teams into shooting threes. Not only do opponents shoot a high volume of them, NC State is defending them well.
| Category |
Percentage |
ACC Rank (conference only) |
| 3pt. Rate (3pt. FGA/FGA) |
31% |
#1 |
| 3pt. FG% defense |
30.30% |
#1 |
Pastner maintained that if his team made its free throws and went, say, 5-of-21 from three instead of 2-of-21, they could have beaten N.C. State last month. The Wolfpack still cheat off ball-side corners in hopes of pickpocketing dribble drivers, which can sometimes lead to open looks in the halfcourt. Tech will need to make those available kickout threes, something that’s been frustratingly lacking of late.
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