Wake Forest, L 71-67
Top Performers
Torin Dorn- 18 pts (8-16 FG, 0-4 3PT, 2-3 FT), 8 reb
C.J. Bryce- 17 pts (7-17 FG, 2-6 3PT, 1-2 FT), 4 reb, 3 ast
On a tough night overall, these were the only two who really did too much worthy of praise. Dorn was extremely active early scoring half of the Wolfpack’s points in the first 20 minutes. If it weren’t for that, an already huge halftime deficit would’ve been enough to just shut off the TV for good. For the most part Dorn has given NC State consistent production all year, but there has been a huge dip in 3PT shooting and it continued last Tuesday when he missed all 4 attempts. After going through the non conference with a 3PT shooting percentage far above his career average, Dorn has plummeted in five conference games shooting just 1-14 from deep. Part of that is due to simply regressing to the mean, but he’s also started taking way too many contested shots from behind the arc. Dorn is extremely effective from 15 feet and in and needs to make that his bread and butter going forward. C.J. Bryce on the other hand has been a little inconsistent at times throughout the year even though he was still putting up fine numbers on the surface. But it just feels like he’s been starting to come in to his own in the last few weeks. His shot has been starting to look a little better while still showing against Wake his strength of being a slasher who thrives on getting to the basket.
Jaylen Hoard- 16 pts (4-9 FG, 1-1 3PT, 7-8 FT), 10 reb, 3 blk
Torrey Johnson- 11 pts (4-4 FG, 1-1 3PT, 3-3 FT)
It was a very balanced effort from the Deacs with 6 of the 8 guys who played double digit minutes scoring at least 8 points. Jaylen Hoard was the gem in a pretty solid freshman class for Wake Forest as the 22nd ranked player in the ESPN100. Hoard showed a little bit of everything on Tuesday night recording his fifth double-double of the season. He was near perfect from the free throw line and was able to display that shooting stroke out to the three point line. Combine that with his ability to rebound with good size at the four position, he’ll be a problem in the league if he doesn’t bolt for the pros after this year. Torrey Johnson only played 15 minutes off the bench, but the senior contributed a huge 11 points while not missing a shot all night in his best performance of the year. After NC State pulled it to 67-66 with 1:46 remaining, Johnson hit a huge pull up jumper on the next possession and then sank two free throws with 13 seconds left to ice away the game.
Overall Takeaways
This is a really really bad loss. By far the worst of the Keatts era. There’s no two ways around it. It was basically a neutral site game at The Joel with the loudest crowd moments of the night coming during State’s big run in the second half. We can sit here and applaud the way they stormed back after getting down by 22 points, and sure that’s worth mentioning because they’re never out of a game, but it shouldn’t have come to that. Keatts noted in his postgame interview that you can’t keep digging holes for yourself because sometimes they’re just too big to climb out of. There were certainly opportunities to grab the lead late as Devon Daniels was off on a potential three pointer to jump ahead and Braxton Beverly had two such chances.
The first few minutes of the game were actually encouraging and pointed towards a possible comfortable win for NC State, but after the first media timeout they flipped the wrong switch and played completely uninspired basketball for the next 20 minutes or so. Sloppy and sluggish on most possessions, it was quite painful to watch. Wake not so surprisingly went with a lot of zone after seeing NC State look clueless against it in the Pitt game without Markell Johnson. The result was pretty similar. A team that ranked in the top 10 in shooting percentage after non conference play set a new season low percentage for the fourth straight game. Why has the offense become so stagnant? On Tuesday there was very little movement offensively, with or without the ball, which made them pretty easy to guard and resulted in far too many contested jump shots. The Pack took 29 threes and made a grand total of six, while getting out shot from the free throw line with 16 less makes. Those two stats really were the difference in the game, spotty effort aside. I try to look at the positives in losses as well, but there honestly just wasn’t much good that came from this game. However, the Pack were able to salvage their ranking thanks to…
Notre Dame, W 77-73
Top Performers
C.J. Bryce- 23 pts (9-14 FG, 5-5 3PT), 5 reb, 3 ast
Devon Daniels 15 pts (5-14 FG, 1-5 3PT, 4-4 FT), 6 reb, 3 blk
Much like the backup quarterback in football, everyone’s favorite player is the guy who has to sit out a year. Remember the rescue squad a few years back of Dennis Smith Jr, Torin Dorn and Terry Henderson? You know, the rescue squad that ended up going 16-17 in the Gott Father’s final season? Well once again NC State had a couple guys sit out last season who had maybe too unreasonable of expectations to come in and immediately take this team to the next level. Both have had their moments so far, but it was nice to see them put it together on the same day.
C.J. Bryce was fantastic and certainly deserving of a double scoop after the game. He played with a sense of urgency and aggressiveness, while staying under control doing his damage within the flow of the game. Bryce hit big three pointers on three separate occasions in the second half to stretch the lead back out when Notre Dame got to within a possession. For a guy that’s never really been known as a shooter, he was perfect from deep as he continues to look more confident in his shot as of a late. Maybe this was the classic “coming out party” for Bryce? Devon Daniels wasn’t nearly as efficient but his impact was still very much felt throughout. When he goes strong to the basket under control he’s really tough to stop, instead of throwing up wild shots that make you grimace and half close your eyes. Daniels was all over the floor on Saturday grabbing six rebound and playing solid defense, which saw him make some huge blocks. At 6’5”, Daniels is the best shot blocker on the team behind Funderburk and is making a habit of producing highlight reel blocks. To finish off the afternoon, Daniels calmly knocked down four free throws in the final 33 seconds to preserve the victory.
Dane Goodwin- 19 pts (7-10 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-4 FT), 4 reb, 3 ast
John Mooney- 19 pts (7-14 FG, 5-6 FT), 16 reb
Dane Goodwin sort of came out of nowhere on Saturday as he posted only his fifth double digit scoring game of the season. He went on a personal 10-0 run midway through second half where he was absolutely killing State both shooting the ball and getting to the basket. The freshman has the looks of another four year player who will continue to develop under Mike Brey and become a very good college basketball player. I was having flashbacks of a shorter Tim Abromaitis. Speaking of players who get better each year under Brey, see John Mooney. After playing only 46 minutes as a freshman and then strictly being a role player last season, Mooney is now averaging a double double for the Irish this year as their most consistent player. He was a beast on the boards with 16 rebounds (only 3 were offensive thankfully), and also had another nice day scoring the ball. He’s got the ability to score down on the block, and although he couldn’t get one to fall from deep, he is more than capable with a 42.5% from there.
Overall Takeaways
The term “must-win game” gets thrown around too often in sports, but considering everything, this really felt like a must-win game. Sandwiched in between the nightmare that was Wake Forest and the upcoming 6-game gauntlet that NC State is about to go through, they needed a win against a serviceable yet very beatable Notre Dame team. The score makes it seem like a nail biter, and it was absolutely close all game with State’s largest lead being just 8 for a brief moment, but in all honesty the game never really seemed in doubt. The Wolfpack were in complete control leading for over 33 minutes and didn’t once give the lead back up after C.J. Bryce hit a three with 18:24 remaining. It was encouraging to see a solid all-around game from the boys in red (NOT BLACK!!!) to rebound from a pretty poor effort. That’s what good teams do. NC State is yet to lose back to back games this season and has never had a losing streak surpass two games in the Keatts era.
Markell Johnson missed his second straight game and while it was great to get a road win without their starting PG, this teams needs him back. More specifically, Braxton Beverly needs him back. With Johnson sidelined, Beverly has been tasked with filling in as the point guard for 30+ minutes a game. He’s done a fine job in the fill in role just as he did last year, but it largely takes away his effectiveness as a shooter which is where he makes his impact on the game. Since Johnson went down midway through the first half of the Pitt game, Beverly has gone 5-21 from three point range. Playing point for the majority of the game takes a lot out of a player, both mentally and physically, which is why you pretty much never see volume shooting point guards. Johnson returning to the lineup will allow Braxton to move off the ball where he is much more comfortable and can get back on track shooting the ball, because when he’s on it’s such a huge weapon to have. It will also just help the offense as a whole because Markell is able to open up so much by breaking down defenses and either scoring himself or setting up wide open looks for others. The amount of clean looks the Wolfpack is getting in his absence is noticeable and a direct correlation. His return is crucial for the upcoming stretch, beginning with the trip to Louisville on Thursday night.