NC State Beats Cleveland State, 80-63

Box Score

The offense clicked early for NC State, and there wasn't a lot that the undersized Vikings could do to stop the Pack's interior scoring. Richard Howell hit seven of 11 shots, while Calvin Leslie was seven for eight; as a team, NC State shot nearly 60% inside the arc. The team also made 78.3% of its free throws, which was a bonus against such a fouly opponent. Avoiding turnovers was also key for the Pack--there were some self-inflicted errors, but the Vikings weren't able to get in passing lanes or generate much pressure on ballhandlers in the halfcourt. That was a pleasant surprise.

I didn't care for our defensive rebounding effort, and I don't like the fact that Cleveland State made half of its twos, but hey, it was an easy win despite Scott Wood putting up a goose egg from the field, and this is not a terrible opponent. My hope is the Vikings will improve as they get healthier and help us out down the line in the RPI department. (Not that we necessarily will need it.)