Big Ten flip-flop? NC State gets another shot at Wisconsin.
N.C. State’s loss to Wisconsin in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge last season can be boiled down to a 15-second clip.
Wisconsin guard Brad Davison drew five offensive fouls in a 79-75 home win for the Badgers. ESPN put together all five of them in a nightmare-fuel of a montage for Wolfpack fans.
Davison’s histrionics might border on humorous if you don’t stop to think that N.C. State was left out of the NCAA tournament last year because it did not have enough quality wins. The Badgers, a top 25 RPI team, would have qualified as a “Quadrant 1” win for the Wolfpack in a game it had controlled for about 35 minutes.
But Wisconsin got hot down the stretch, and finished 11 of 21 from the 3-point line, while Davison drew a couple of dubious calls, notably one on N.C. State guard Markell Johnson with 17.9 seconds left to seal the game. The NCAA has since implemented new flopping rules this season, and Davison has already drawn the attention of the referees.
Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts complimented Davison, a junior starter for the Badgers (4-3), and said it’s incumbent upon the N.C. State players to be cognizant of how Davison defends.
“We’re going to try to get around guys without running through them,” Keatts said. “The kid is a good defensive player. You go back and look at the tape, I think he sold the referees on a couple of those charges that he drew, that were questionable. But we’re not going to concentrate on that. We’re going to try to do better and not run over guys.”
NC State played ‘weird’ against Memphis
The Wolfpack (5-2) finds itself in a similar position to where it was last year against the Badgers. N.C. State dropped an 83-78 neutral-site game to Memphis on Thanksgiving. The next three nonconference games (UNC-Greensboro, Auburn) give the Wolfpack a chance to build its resume.
It will have to play more like it did in the second half of the loss to Memphis than the first. Keatts, who has a 1-1 record in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, called the way his team played against Memphis “weird.”
“It was two different teams,” Keatts said. “You look at the last 6 minutes of the first half, I thought we had complete blown assignments and ball-screen coverage. The encouraging thing is our second half was so great.”
N.C. State was out-scored 19-7 over the final 6 minutes of the first half and went from trailing 36-32 to 55-39 at the break. Foul trouble to bigs D.J. Funderburk and Manny Bates hurt the Wolfpack defensively. Pat Andree and Danny Dixon struggled on ball-screens and to keep up with the more athletic Tigers.
“I don’t want to see the first half ever again but I’m encouraged by the second half and hopefully we can build on that,” Keatts said.
N.C. State was able to clamp down defensively in the second half. It held the Tigers 28 points and 38.7 percent FG shooting. N.C. State was down 75-72 with the ball with 3:30 left when guard Braxton Beverly missed a long 3-pointer.
Johnson led the Wolfpack with 22 points while Funderburk added 14 points in 21 minutes. Forward Jericole Hellems continued his sophomore jump with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Tigers were a tough matchup for Andree, the grad transfer from Lehigh, he was a minus-15 in 6 minutes on the floor.
“Memphis was a tough matchup for a lot of our guys,” Keatts said. “I expect Pat to bounce back. We need him. He’s a guy who can score the basketball. We couldn’t play him as much in the Memphis game because of defensive breakdowns but hopefully he can contribute in this game.”
Wisconsin, coming off of consecutive losses (Richmond and New Mexico) in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, should be a better matchup for N.C. State’s shooters.
The Badgers lost big man Ethan Happ from last year’s NCAA tournament team but junior forward Nate Reuvers (15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds per game) has stepped up. Davison has chipped in 12.1 points per game.
Wisconsin at NC State
When: Wednesday, 9:15 p.m.
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: 101.5-WRAL
Wisconsin (4-3)
G D’Mitrik Trice 8.4 ppg, 3.1 apg
G Brad Davison 12.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
G Kobe King 10.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg
F Aleem Ford 9.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg
F Nate Reuvers 15.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg
NC State (5-2)
G Markell Johnson 12.0 ppg, 6.7 apg
G Braxton Beverly 9.1 ppg, 2.1 apg
G C.J. Bryce 16.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg
F Jericole Hellems 10.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
F Manny Bates 7.1 ppg, 3.4 bpg
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 2:20 PM.
