NC State Basketball Stats Check

The recent thing that happened in College Park aside, the road has been pretty smooth for the Pack's offense. State has established itself as one of the nation's most accurate-shooting teams, both inside and out. The defense... well. Here's a look at the Pack's offensive and defensive factors through 17 games:

State ranks among the nation's top 20 in 2FG% and 3FG%, that dreadful performance at Maryland included. Add to that the Pack's ability to protect the basketball and get to the line, and you have one very, very good offense. Funny thing about the turnover rate--and this is where my selective memory kicks in--but it feels like the Pack has been far more lackadaisical with the ball than that figure would suggest. This is why it's nice to have numbers to keep the ol' eye balls in check.

Defensively, well, I don't think anyone will be surprised by what are the obvious weaknesses shown here. NC State is simply no good at forcing turnovers, and its defensive rebounding outside of Richard Howell is bad. The root of the problem is poor technique--too much reaching/cheating, not enough footwork. That allows opponents easy access to the lane, which generally leads to someone being out of position defensively, and then shit ends badly.

Through the first four league games, there isn't a lot to be upset about--granted, the defensive TO% is alarmingly low, but this is not so much a surprise. NC State ranks among the league's top half in three categories both offensively and defensively, which is a good start.