NC State 88, Gardner-Webb 76

Box Score

NC StateFour FactorsPercenteFG59.4Turnover Rate18.1Off Reb Rate48.5FTM/FGA18.8

Gardner-WebbFour FactorsPercenteFG61.5Turnover Rate26.5Off Reb Rate20FTM/FGA23.1

-- Had a chance to attend tonight's game, my first of the season. But for the free throw shooting and lazy perimeter defense, I enjoyed it. The red floor looks great.

-- Gardner-Webb scored about 1.06 points/possession; coming into tonight's game, they'd averaged 0.82 points per possession, which ranked 302nd in the nation. They came in shooting 42.9% and shot 61.5%. So...yeah. Not the best defensive effort from the Pack. Gardner-Webb made 13-of-16 (81.3%) two-point shots in the second half.

-- That disappointment aside, NC State took full control in the second half and pushed the lead to 20 before Lowe started putting in the scrubs and G-W chipped away to make it look more respectable.

-- G-W is a terrible rebounding team. We grabbed almost 50%(!) of our own misses and 80% of theirs. That's domination. Brandon Costner led the charge at both ends, posting excellent offensive and defensive rebounding percentages.

-- At some point in the second half, I noted to my dad that Courtney Fells was playing like $%#@, and Fells promptly hit back-to-back threes. He musta heard me.

-- For the second straight game, Gavin Grant used over 30% of the team's possessions, but his O Rtg (111.5) was much better this time around.

-- Player of the game, without question, was Engin Atsur. Twenty-six points on 80% (eFG) shooting, 7 assists, a turnover percentage of 6.8, and a 163.1 O Rtg.