NC State basketball begins its quest for ACC tournament title against Virginia Tech
Every team in the 2023 ACC Tournament will have played by the time N.C. State takes the court Wednesday for its first game at 9:30 p.m. — every team in the first two rounds, anyway.
That includes Virginia Tech, the opponent for the Wolfpack, the No. 6 seed in the tournament.
The Hokies, the 2022 ACC champs, emerged as a first-round winner Tuesday, fighting past Notre Dame 67-64 in Mike Brey’s last game as the Irish coach. The winner of the NC State-Virginia Tech game advances to play Clemson on Thursday.
What’s at stake
The Wolfpack would like to believe it will have a spot in the NCAA tournament field, win or lose. It was 22-9 overall and 12-8 in the ACC in the regular season, is No. 40 in the NET rankings and does not have a Quad-3 or Quad-4 loss.
Then again, the Pack felt much the same way in 2019 after beating Clemson in its first ACC Tournament game in Charlotte. Come NCAA time, the Pack was headed to the NIT. It’s unpredictable.
There’s little guesswork for Virginia Tech. The Hokies need to win the ACC Tournament — again — to get in the NCAAs with the league’s automatic bid.
First impression
The Wolfpack topped the Hokies in their only game this season, leading wire to wire for a 73-69 victory at Cassell Coliseum on Jan. 7 in Blacksburg.
Terquavion Smith had 22 points and Jarkel Joiner 21 for the Wolfpack, which was coming off a 24-point win over Duke and built a 36-22 lead over the Hokies. D.J. Burns had a relatively quiet game with 10 points, and forward Jack Clark missed the game with an injury.
But the Hokies played that night without Hunter Cattoor, who was out with an injury. Sean Pedulla had 19 points and was his usual feisty self, but the Hokies’ Justyn Mutts had 9 points and Grant Basile 4 on a night when the Hokies needed more.
The Hokies were 4-of-18 on 3-pointers and outrebounded 38-29 by the Pack as Greg Gantt had a team-high 9 boards and Joiner 8. The Pack was 20-25 at the foul line and Smith and Joiner each made 8 of 10, including some big ones in the final seconds.
Scouting report
The Hokies have the advantage of having been on the Greensboro Coliseum floor and getting a tournament win, They already have a feel for the tournament scene and all the good vibes that come from winning the championship a year ago.
The Pack will come in well-rested but the question is will it be too rested? Its last game was last week in a Tuesday matchup against Duke in Durham — a long time off for team at this time in the season.
The Wolfpack will need to keep Cattoor from going off. The senior, the tournament MVP last year, made all three of his 3-point shots in the first half Tuesday against Notre Dame, but had just two points in the second as the Irish did a better job tracking him and not giving him 3-point looks.
The Pack defense must again contain Mutts and Basile. Mutts had 18 points and 13 rebounds against the Irish and Basile finished with 20 points — the two a combined 15-for-25 from the field.
The Wolfpack needs Smith to shake out of his late-season shooting slump and senior Casey Morsell to shake off his 0-for-8 shooting game against Duke. The Pack will look to play inside/out and play through Burns.
The Pack leads the ACC in fast-break points per game (15.6) while having the fifth fewest turnovers per game (9.6) in Division I. It’s the ACC leader in turnover margin.
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 10:01 PM.
