MBB Game 02 - @ NC State - 11/17/14, 7 PM on ESPN3

[Jojogunne]

NC State will be a much greater challenge for us. The Wolfpack outscored Jackson State handily and have bigger players at all positions.

Caleb and Cody Martin, two of Rokas Gustys's former teammates from Oak Hill, are on the NC State roster.

http://www.gopack.com/sports/m-baskbl/m ... l-mtt.html

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/1 ... GeMWMlpmMA

[Jojogunne]

Game preview and game notes:

http://www.gohofstra.com/news/2014/11/1 ... 45730.aspx

[Polito]

Yep, bigger test, better players, tougher environment, road ACC game

Positives for HU are its still early in the season where mids can sneak out upset wins, they have a nice team win under their belt, plays are installed (holy cow that is SO refreshing), confidence and excitement seem high, playing D, unselfish scoring, and playing as a team already

But the main reason I'm giving HU the shot to win due to NC State being extremely young - only 1 major contributor a JR, and he sat last yr, all others freshman and sophomores - they are talented youth, but youth still the same, and with a lot of pressure and fast pace play, that can be exploited

HU is a bit deceiving because when you factor in the sit out yr for Green, Tanksley, Bernardi, and Eliel, and juco Nichols, on top of Srs Dion and Moussa, they are actually putting more experienced older players on the floor than it seems on paper - they're just new to playing in live games together - but looks to me like they've been preparing for that and are gelling as a 'team' quickly

The scoring distribution was excellent - NCState will not be able to simply shut down 1 or 2 star guards, they have 5-6 guys who can carry the load - that's very difficult to defend

Don't see either team scoring as high, and this will be far from easy or as dominant as JU game, but I do think it will be a battle - HU has a real shot - we shall see..

[Cards]

Game notes say that NCS does not shoot the "3" very well, nor do they defend it well. Could be a nice game for our 3-point shooters. On the other hand, if they pound it down low all game it will be a real test for Moussa, Rokas, and Andre. We'll have to be carefull with our forwards foul situation.

[ProudofPride]

NC State's preview and game notes: http://www.gopack.com/sports/m-baskbl/s ... 14aaa.html
Here are a few of the message boards… These are the most active ones and the free ones.
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=178&f=2515&t=13364975
http://www.statefansnation.com/forums/
http://www.forum.packinsider.com/forum/ ... -7pm-espn3

[HofstraHockey]

Bernardi could have a field day again. Nesmith, on the other hand, 1 for 8 from beyond doesn't excite me. If he could have hit 2 more, though, a 100 point game??

I'm glad this one will be streamed.

[EvanJ]

Newsday says North Carolina State is favored by 15.5.

[HUSID80]

ESPN's Pick Center has it at 13.5...would like to see us give them a tough time and score in at least the 70's

[swilli15]

NC State doesn't seem to be taking us that seriously, perhaps reflective of looking up our record from past years. I have no idea what to expect from this game, we could be blown out of the building or we could hang tight and maybe sneak an upset. I'm concerned about size down low, especially on the offensive end. Andre and Rokas have shown that they're more polished on the defensive side of the floor, and Moussa has always been defensively-minded. The issue could be foul trouble on defense and spacing on offense, if the 4s and 5s can't create, then the pressure on Green to distribute and Bernardi/Nesmith to knock down shots increases tremendously. For us to win we need Green to show why he deserves CAA Player of the Year, expect a lot more than 27 minutes tonight from Coach Joe's star. Otherwise I'm hoping for Kone to stay healthy and for Hofstra to stay competitive throughout the game, stay composed, and avoid serious foul trouble. I think falling into foul trouble against a very good team like NC State can drown even a decent squad like Hofstra pretty quickly.

[stuball888]

No predictions here. I want them to play hard and smart. Limit turnovers and rebound well. Do that and they will stay in the game.

[swilli15]

This is the kind of game where Green needs to prove his CAA PotY caliber if Hofstra is to win. Just won't be able to do it unless he's great.

[DutchDoug]

I had to do some work to even find this board, and I know I post once every 3 years but I wanted to provide some genuine insight. I've had season tickets to NC State basketball for the past 7 years now and can say I know the team extremely well. Having said that, I think Hofstra has a real shot here. NC State was only up 2 at halftime in their exhibition vs Queens (the one in Charlotte, NC - not New York) despite winning by 31 - a game won by defense not their offense. NC State does not shoot the ball well, and both guards - Trevor Lacey (transfer from Alabama) and Cat Barber both shot very well in the blowout vs Jackson State last Friday, which leads me to believe they will shoot rather poorly tonight, which is certainly more of the normal. Turner is a streaky shooter, with a very ugly release. He'll miss his first 10, then go hit 3 in a row, then miss another 10. He's never met a shot he didn't like. Lacey is very in control, does not make mistakes, Barber can force the issue a bit - he's a bit of an Allen Iverson type and they call him Cat cause he is super quick. The Wolfpack don't play very good defense and historically are very poor defending the 3, leading me to think Bernardi could have another really really good night. Where NC State does seem to do well is getting out and running, getting hands in passing lanes (NC State guards have very quick hands) and a multitude of bigs that will make things difficult down low - Anya, Washington, Abu, Freeman and the Martin twins all can create some havoc and alter shots. The true key to the game is getting Cat Barber in foul trouble. The only other true point guard on the roster is Lacey and he starts at the off guard. Des Lee comes off the bench and is a turnover waiting to happen on every possession. The offense was miserable vs Jackson State whenever Barber wasn't in the game. Oh, and one other thing, NC State is absolutely miserable from the free throw line. They easily give away 8-10 points a night (if not more) strictly from the free throw line. The true problem is if Hofstra tries to run, NC State wants to run whenever they can and a 4 point lead can balloon to 14 in the blink of an eye just off some fast breaks off steals & blocks, seen it happen all the time. Putting that into account, this team gets very complacent with a lead, they relax and wanna play streetball - the offense stagnates and turnovers generally happen. So should Hofstra fall behind by a large margin, it is by no means over. Ya'll saw the NC State meltdown vs St Louis in the NCAA Tournament last year, right? Melting down, NC State does it well. Do I expect the Wolfpack to win? Sure. Do I expect a close game? Absolutely. Would a Hofstra win surprise me? Not in the least. Have faith my fellow Dutch, we have a good squad this year and got a fighting chance tonight.

[stuball888]

DD nice post. You are now challenging Polito to have you included in my reading list for the fall.

[Polito]

Great stuff DD! Excellent to get that from a season ticket holder - basically what I was thinking from the little I was able to dig into them - they have 2 guys that can score, but if you contain them, or even shut one down, I think HU has a great shot - their bigs down low will be challenging, but they are young and anything can happen with youth

if HU shoots well I think they win - interesting that State is a running team also, this could be real wild if they both try to run each other out of the gym! wonder if one will alter the plan and try to slow things down?

hoping Kone is feeling much better, he'll be needed - think HU has a big advantage in the number of quality scorers/shooters who can go off for double figs in any game (VERY tough to defend an O with 5-6 legit weapons), but State certainly has some depth - it's underclassmen depth, but depth all the same - I want HU to take this in regulation, no OT's

and yeah, Dion had a rough 1st game shooting, but I have no doubt there will be games that he picks up the others with a hot night

Exciting night fellas, let's see how the team responds with a big road game - win or lose, ROLL PRIDE baby!!! (but let's go ahead and win this sucker anyway!)

[ProudofPride]

same starting lineup as jacksonville, except Gustys is starting instead of Kone.

[HofstraHockey]

This is a real messy start. Guys falling all over the place, turnovers like crazy, and zero D under the rim for the Dutch.

[dutchalum01]

the half can't come soon enough...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ProudofPride]

Gustys is now injured to the point where Jamall Robinson had to shoot his free throws for him… so now him and Kone are both out.

[jaspegs]

Need to find a way to get Bernardi the ball. Unbelievable that he didn't have a shot till the final minute.

[EvanJ]

North Carolina State leads 45-29. North Carolina State has 9 more field goal attempts due to 10 offensive rebounds and 10 Hofstra turnovers and North Carolina State has shot the ball better.