NC State 86, Miami 77

Box Score

Four Factors
eFG%TO RateOR RateFTA/FGANC State58.221.020.0.45The U46.821.035.9.39

Now that I have had some time to recover:

-- In three conference games against Miami, NC State is 36-69 (52.2%) from behind the arc. The Pack has hit 12 threes in each game.

-- Cam says conditioning was an advantage for State (HT: ACC Now). Fatigue did look like a factor in Miami's free throw misses during the second overtime. Defensively, Anthony Harris had trouble staying with Bennerman in the OTs.

-- Tony Bethel had a bad night from the floor, but that was inevitable considering how well he'd been shooting in conference play. It also seemed like Bethel lost his footing a lot. On the plus side, Tony had four steals and only turned the ball over once in 47 minutes.

-- Numbers confirm our suspicion: Gavin Grant was excellent. His O Rtg for the game was 128, third on the team behind Bennerman and Brackman. Good things happen for Gavin when he plays with discipline and doesn't force shots. He took and made a wide open three (and as long as he's open, he should take those jumpers--despite his poor shooting percentage), calmly made some huge free throws, and hit an important jumper in the opening minute of overtime. No Wolfpack player averaged more points-per-minute than Grant did.

-- Evtimov had six turnovers, which translates into a turnover rate of 37%. So despite a great shooting performance, his O Rtg for the game was only 100.

-- I'll consider Miami's turnover rate (21%) a victory even though NC State couldn't take advantage. I wish I could say that it was something NC State did, but the Hurricanes just made a lot of unforced errors (in the first half, mostly). Protecting the ball became a big key to their run.

-- State didn't have much success on the offensive glass, but the offensive board that Ilian Evtimov snagged with about 1:30 left in the second OT was among the most important plays of the game. Already up five, NC State used the renewed possession to eat more clock and eventually draw a foul (Simmons would hit two free throws and extend the lead to seven).