It’s almost go time.
NC State faces its toughest task of the season in the Sweet Sixteen: taking down a Stanford group that spent a good portion of the year on the one-seed line and that’s still probably one of the five or six best teams in the country.
The Cardinal are led by All-American center Cameron Brink, the Pac-12 Player of the Year who has also earned Defensive Player of the Year in three straight seasons. Brink averages 17.5 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game. Brink and fellow forward Kiki Iriafen, who averages 19.2 points and 11.1 boards, make for the country’s best frontcourt tandem.
Together they account for a massive amount of Stanford’s offense—both have usage rates over 30%—which effectively renders everyone else role players. The attention they draw creates plenty of opportunities for teammates, and both have proven to be pretty good passers. Aside from Brink and Iriafen, there are four Stanford players shooting better than 50% inside the arc, and no doubt that’s a function of the shot quality they get playing alongside those bigs.
Stanford attempts threes at an average rate but basically everybody in the rotation shoots them capably. Opponents also have to worry about Brink on the perimeter, as she’s 20-68 (29.4%) from outside, which is good enough to keep defenses honest.
It’s a difficult team to slow down but that’s not to say it isn’t capable of some clunkers. The Cardinal needed overtime to win at Washington, a team that finished 6-12 in the league, and lost by seven at home to Arizona, which finished 18-16 (but did make the NCAAs anyway). They also lost by 12 at Colorado and were taken to OT early in the season by Duke—two teams NC State has beaten.
State’s offense has the 10th-best turnover rate in the country and you can see above that Stanford does not force many—that’s one thing to watch and a key for the Pack. NC State also needs to hold up on the defensive glass and I don’t think there’s any way around the fact that it is going to have to shoot well from outside. This would be an ideal time for Aziaha James to do some cookin’.