Two 2-win teams desperate for an ACC win, both likely to miss the ACC Tournament
When: Saturday February 15 – 2:00 PM
Where: Lenovo Center
TV: ACCN
Opponent: Boston College Eagles
Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): NC State 74-65 / NC State 74-65
Wolfpack Snapshot:
- Record: 9-15, 2-11
- Rankings: KP #111, BT #112, WAB -7.0 ranked 195th
- NET Ranking: NET 128, 14th in ACC Conf NET rankings
- NET performance: Q1 (0-7), Q2 (0-6), Q3 (2-2), Q4 (7-0)
Wolfpack Season So Far:
Coach Keatts notched another mark in the NC State history books, along with last season’s success, he has the most losses in a season (21) and now is (at least) tied for most consecutive losses (9). Lose to BC and, with UNC and Wake up next, the streak could easily hit 12 or more without a massive upset. If the season continues this trend, I’m sure there will be more ‘firsts’ and volumes written about them.
105 Year History of Wolfpack Men’s Basketball Losing Streaks: NC State’s longest losing streaks were the 9-game streaks during the 1991-1992 (Les Robinson) and 2007-2008 (Sidney Lowe) seasons. Coach Keatts joins that unfortunate list this season.
Realistically, two sad goals remain this season:
- Make the ACC tournament – The bottom 3 teams aren’t invited. Currently we are out, ranked 17th. Ahead of the Pack are 5 teams with only 5 ACC wins. One scenario to avoid missing the ACCT – we’d need to win at least 4 of our final 7 (to reach 6 wins), BC and Miami could win no more than 5, and at least one of those 5 ahead of us must lose the rest of their games. All aspects of that scenario seem almost impossible. The Wolfpack season is likely ending Saturday afternoon March 8 in Florida against Miami. Plan accordingly.
- Avoid tying or exceeding Coach Keatts’ record for the most losses in Wolfpack history – 2021-2022: 11-21 / 4-16. We’d need to win at least 2 – assuming we sit out the ACCT.
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Wolfpack Player Notes:
- Mike James had arthroscopic knee surgery on 10/30 and has yet to play this season. Coach Keatts announced that he has not yet been ruled out for the season in his Monday (2/3) press conference. He expects to make a final decision soon.
Opponent Overview:
BC finished 20-16 and made an NIT appearance last season. In the preseason they were voted to finish last in the league but are currently 16th just slightly ahead of our favorite team.
All-ACC Quentin Post was drafted by the GS Warriors. The transfer portal spirited away their top three scorers, and when the smoke cleared, he had five returning players.
They picked up Dion Brown (UMBC), Roger McFarlane (SE Louisiana), Chad Venning (St. Bonaventure) and Josh Beadle (Clemson) out of the portal.
Their freshman class includes 3-star recruits, PF Kany Tchanda, PG Luka Toews, and CG Nick Petronio.
Opponent Snapshot:
- Record: 10-14, 2-11
- Rankings: KP #207, BT #198, WAB -7.4 ranked 206th
- NET Ranking: NET 222, 18th in ACC Conf NET rankings
- NET performance: Q1 (1-5), Q2 (0-4), Q3 (2-4), Q4 (7-1)
Their ACC Rankings of Note – Conference Play: (Source: theacc.com)
- Team 3PT FG% 2nd
- Team FT% 15th
- Turnover Margin 16th
- Opponent Rebounds 17th
- Opponent FG% 17th
- Steals 17th
- Defense 18th
Their Season So Far:
The Eagles’ best win of the season was in November, they beat Boise St in the championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic. Since then, they’ve won four games.
Like NC State, they have not won on the road.
Player Notes
- Donald Hand Jr. 9th in scoring, 3rd 3PT FG%, 3rd 3PT FG per game
- Chad Venning 4th FG%
Keys To The Game
Keep a ‘hand’ on Hand – Donald Hand, Jr. is a big guard (6’5” 210) who can score on anybody. He’s scored in double digits 20 times, including games of 28. 29, and 31 points. He is an excellent 3PT shooter, ranked 3rd in the ACC in made 3PT shots.
Defend the post – Chad Venning is big (6’9” 270) and is going to be a tough task for our centers. He shoots 55.3 FG%. He doesn’t pass out of the post much, he only has 18 assists on the season. He just scores.