Four of the five remaining members of the Fellowship of the Rings are departing
When: Wednesday March 5 – 7:00 PM
Where: Lenovo Center
TV: ACC Network
Opponent: Pittsburgh Panthers
Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): Pitt 73-69 / Pitt 71-70
Wolfpack Snapshot:
- Record: 11-18, 4-14
- Rankings: KP #127, BT #119, WAB -8.4 ranked 190th
- NET Ranking: NET 137, 14th in ACC Conf NET rankings
- NET performance: Q1 (0-8), Q2 (1-7), Q3 (2-3), Q4 (8-0)
Wolfpack Senior Night:
The last home game of the regular season is the fan’s opportunity to say goodbye and thank our departing seniors. Others will inevitably decide to leave once the transfer window opens on March 24th, but the ones we know that have exhausted their eligibility are Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Jayden Taylor, Michael O’Connell, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, and Dontrez Styles.
Senior memories from last year’s post season run
Jaden Taylor – In the first two games of the ACC Tournament, DJ Horne was recovering from injury. JT got the start in his place and stepped up big. 18 pts / 8 reb against Louisville and 18 pts / 9 reb (career high) against Syracuse. Those were the best games he ever had in any post season, when the Wolfpack needed him the most.
Michael O’Connell – Mike will forever be remembered for the unlikely 3PT shot in the ACC Tournament that got NC State into overtime versus Virginia. However, he was as critical a contributor as anyone in that entire run. After scoring double figures only 3 times in the regular season, he averaged 10.2 ppg in the 9 wins, including hitting his career high 16 points twice. He shot 49% from 3PT. He averaged 4 rebounds per game, including a career high 11 against Duke. Plus, he delivered 5.5 assists per game. Without question, the highlights of his career.
Ben Middlebrooks – In the first game of the NCAA Tournament against Texas Tech, DJ Burns struggled with foul trouble and only played for 16 minutes. Ben played for 23 minutes and scored his career high 21 points (6/8, 9/10), along with 4 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and 2 steals. Without Big Ben, it might have been another short stay in the NCAAT.
Breon Pass – In the first ACC Tournament game against Louisville, the Wolfpack was playing without DJ Horne and struggling to score early in the game. The Cardinals led 23-11 early in the first half. At the 12:30 mark O’Connell found Breon open and he hit a 3PT shot. Louisville followed with a 3PT shot of their own, and then Taylor found Breon open again and he hit another 3PT shot. Those back-to-back 3PT shots energized the Pack and by halftime it was a one-point game. After the ACC tournament, Assistant Coach Joel Justus was quoted as saying he thought Breon’s second 3PT shot as important as O’Connell’s in NC State’s ACC tournament championship run.
What about the rest of the team?
- Ismaël Diouf has another year of eligibility
- Mike James has another year of eligibility, two if he applies for and gets a medical redshirt
- Marcus Hill is a senior but will get an extra season of eligibility based on the NCAA’s ruling on JUCO playing experience (*)
- Rising Junior – Dennis Parker, Jr.
- Rising Sophomores – Trey Parker, Bryce Heard, Paul McNeil
- Incoming Freshmen – RJ Greer (3-star SG), Zymicah Wilkins (4-star FW)
* “The NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved an extra year of eligibility only in 2025-26 for student-athletes who previously competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years (which includes junior colleges) and would have exhausted their eligibility after the 2024-25 season.”
Opponent Overview:
Coach Capel is in his seventh season as head coach and is coming off back-to-back 20+ win seasons. Currently, Pitt is on the outside looking in at the NCAAT behind fellow ACC bubble teams UNC, SMU and Wake Forest.
Opponent Snapshot:
- Record: 16-13, 7-11
- Rankings: KP #58, BT #76, WAB -2.5 ranked 76th
- NET Ranking: NET 60, 6th in ACC Conf NET rankings
- NET performance: Q1 (1-9), Q2 (3-2), Q3 (6-2), Q4 (6-0)
Their ACC Rankings of Note – Conference Play: (Source: theacc.com)
- Blocked shots – 1st
- Steals – 2nd
- Turnover Margin – 2nd
- Team FT% – 3rd
- Team FG% – 16th
- Opponent 3PT FG% – 16th
- Team Rebounds – 16th / Offensive Rebounds 15th / Defensive Rebounds 16th
Player Notes
- Jaland Lowe – 10th in ACC in scoring, 2nd in FT%, 6th in assists, 4th in steals
- Ishmael Leggett – 8th FT%
- Zack Austin – 2nd in blocked shots
For The Wolfpack to Win
The players need to win this one for the seniors. Although Dennis Parker, Jr. was on last season’s team, he was ill at the end of the season and could not play. So that means, the last players to actually contribute to that amazing championship postseason are saying goodbye to the fans as of this game.