Preview: Stanford Men’s Basketball finishes regular season at NC State
On Saturday at 11:15 AM PT on The CW, Stanford men’s basketball will close out the regular season on the road at NC State. Stanford comes in at 19-11 overall and 8-9 in the ACC while NC State comes in at 19-11 overall and 10-7 in the ACC.
Last time out: On Wednesday, Stanford defeated Notre Dame on the road by a final score of 86-78. Ebuka Okorie led the way for the Cardinal with 24 points and seven assists while Jeremy Dent- Smith had 21 points.
RECAP: Stanford Men’s Basketball edges Notre Dame in South Bend
Student Athlete Availability Reporting: Per the ACC’s Student-Athlete Availability Reporting, the following guys are out for Stanford: Anthony Batson, Chisom Okpara, Tallis Toure, and Kristers Skrinda. The following are out for NC State: Colt Langdon.
On NC State: Despite having a three game losing skid, the Wolfpack are a projected 9 seed in the NCAA tournament by Joe Lunardi at the moment. They don’t have a lot of signature wins, but like Stanford, they have a home win over No. 17 North Carolina. Their current losing streak is to No. 13 Virginia (away), Notre Dame (away), and No. 1 Duke (home). They’ll be eager to get back in the win column before the ACC tournament begins.
Senior forward Darrion Williams leads the way for the Wolfpack, averaging 14.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. Senior guard Quadir Copeland (13.6 points, 6.8 assists, & 1.8 steals), senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin (13.6 points & 7.0 rebounds), and sophomore guard Paul McNeil Jr. (13.5 points) are also scoring in double figures, forming a really good quartet.
Sports-Reference: NC State Wolfpack-Roster & Stats
Keys to the game: The first thing Stanford needs to do is crash the glass effectively. In ACC play, the Wolfpack on average get out-rebounded by five rebounds every game. If players like AJ Rohosy, Aidan Cammann, and Donavin Young are able to rebound well inside on both ends of the floor, that would be huge.
Secondly, Stanford needs to find a way to combat NC State’s balance. The Wolfpack have a lot of weapons and balance. Stanford needs to make sure they aren’t just the Ebuka Okorie show out there. Others have to help him out and take some pressure off of him. Just like how Jeremy Dent-Smith stepped up against Notre Dame.
Third, once again, Stanford has to make their free throws. They seem to have been making them more lately and that’s made a massive difference. If they can keep up the good foul shooting, especially on the road against a team that is favored to beat them, that would go a long way to closing the gap (assuming they get enough trips to the foul line).
Prediction: The smart, rationale pick would be to pick NC State to bounce back at home on their home floor for Senior Day. They’ll have a ton of pride on the line and will not want to lose on their Senior Day. Just like how Stanford dominated SMU last week. Stanford of course has a lot on the line as Lunardi has them as one of the “Next Four Out” teams for the NCAA tournament, but even with that as a motivation, it’s going to be difficult to win this game. I’ll pick NC State to win 76-72. If Stanford proves me wrong, I’ll be seriously impressed.
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