NC State Wins Opener Against UNC-Asheville, 84-75

Box Score (pdf)

All things considered, the Wolfpack's season opener went about as well as could be expected. The team learned before the game that neither Calvin Leslie nor Thomas de Thaey would be available, both for eligibility-related reasons. The offense did a nice job creating opportunities in transition and Asheville was out of the game by halftime. If not for some unusual three-point accuracy on Asheville's part in the second half (they banked a couple in), it could have been much worse.

C.J. Williams led all scorers with 18 points on 8-10 shooting; even with a hairline fracture, it was one of the best performances of his college career. Richard Howell had a tough night from the field but collected 15 boards in 32 minutes, and there was nothing unusual about that rebounding effort. DeShawn Painter posted a very solid 12 point-12 board line, while Lorenzo Brown dished out nine assists. Tyler Harris scored eight points in seven minutes of playing time.

Some encouraging performances along with some things that need to get better. Scott Wood got himself in foul trouble and didn't have the impact on the game that he might have otherwise. But the team was very good on the glass at both ends, and the interior defense was outstanding in general. Asheville hit just 31.7% of its two-point attempts.

Have a look at that tempo. And this was not an instance where the possession total was inflated by a ton of turnovers. In the first half I saw us score within seconds of an Asheville made basket, on a nice dish from Lorenzo Brown. I feel like I haven't seen that sort of thing happen...ever.

By the way, check out this tweet from Alex Johnson at about 10:20 p.m.

I'm so glad we got this kid.