NC State 77, Fairleigh Dickinson 67

Box Score

Not the most inspired effort--Pomeroy had us winning this game by 30--but there weren't many people in the building to pick the guys up.  I think there were roughly eight kids in the SWPC section.

State was actually fortunate that they didn't run into any real trouble in the second half--they made just 3 of 18 two-point attempts and the good offensive rebounding from the first half disappeared.  They kept their distance with a 6-10 effort from three and a bunch of trips to the free throw line.  They also had a +5 edge in turnovers. 

-- The Knights made 55.6% of their twos and grabbed 42.1% of their misses in the second half.  Poor job by NC State's interior defense.  Richard Howell pulled down eight boards (four at each end) in 19 minutes and went 20-20 again. (That is, his OR% and DR% both were around 20%.)  Painter managed two defensive boards in 23 minutes, while Big V had zero in 16 minutes.  That's a problem.  Vandenberg in particular really needs to pick up the glass work while Tracy's out.  Oddly enough, V finished with more assists (4) than rebounds (3).

-- Right now, defensive boards are a glaring weakness for a defense that's been solid in the other factors.  No surprise there.  Tracy's return will make a considerable difference; he's never been a great defensive rebounder, but he's better than Painter and Vandenberg, and he'll cut their minutes as well.  But I don't think it's hasty to say that this is going to be a bad defensive rebounding team all season.

-- Zo Brown had a tough night from the field but remains a reliable free throw shooter, and he added five rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks.