NC State will get a chance at revenge with Miami coming to town at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Miami junior point guard Ja’Quan Newton had 21 points and senior small forward Davon Reed had 20 to help the Hurricanes pull away for an 81-63 win Dec. 31 in the ACC opener for both teams. Miami has been uneven ever since — 14-7 overall and 4-5 in the league — and NC State has had major issues defensively. NCSU (14-9 overall, 3-7 ACC) has allowed at least 81 points in seven ACC games.
Dec. 31 seems like ages ago, but the Wolfpack can prove that it has improved on what didn’t work the last time against the Hurricanes.
“We have a game to look at obviously, our first game, and we can see what things we did well and not well,” Gottfried said. “It does give you a better feel that you played a team one time. The fact that you lost to them once should give extra incentive for our guys to get it back.
"We had a game down there where we couldn't make a basket for a long period of time."
NC State prized freshman point guard Dennis Smith Jr. had 16 of his 21 points come in the second half in the loss at Miami. The game was already out of hand when he got going offensively, which proved to be a good learning experience.
Smith is fresh off of getting 13 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds in the 100-93 overtime loss to Syracuse on Wednesday. Smith and the Wolfpack defense also allowed Syracuse fifth-year senior point guard John Gillon erupt for 43 points and nine three-pointers.
Gottfried has reiterated to NBA teams just how good Smith could be in the future.
"If I was an NBA team, I wouldn't pass on him [Smith]," Gottfried said. "I would not pass on that guy. He has that kind of future."
Miami has made one adjustment in recent games, taking former McDonald’s All-American selection Dewan Huell, and moving the 6-foot-11, 220-pound freshman to the bench. The Hurricanes have slid power forward Kamari Murphy to center and inserted slender 6-7, 210-pound sophomore Anthony Lawrence into the lineup. Lawrence hasn’t produced much in his last three games — combined 12 points and 12 rebounds — but the Hurricanes have won two of them.
“I think Miami is doing a great job of when they play well, of putting the ball on the deck and driving it hard to the rim,” Gottfried said. “They are attacking the basket and trying to beat teams off the dribble left and right. That has been a weakness of ours.”
Newton has always been gifted at getting into the lane off of ball screens, and is averaging 15 points and 3.8 assists per game. The surprise has been the play of freshman shooting guard Bruce Brown, who had 30 points and four three-pointers in a 77-62 home win over North Carolina on Jan. 28. Brown was also well-regarded as a slasher in the prep ranks, but is shooting 23 of 56 from three-point land for 41.1 percent.
“There is a lot of them [ball screens], but I don’t know if it will just be him [Newton],” Gottfried said. “They are all putting the ball on the deck, even their forwards.”
NC State expects to welcome back redshirt sophomore wing Torin Dorn, who was sidelined after trying to gut out a back injury (four minutes played) in Wednesday’s 100-93 overtime loss against Syracuse. The Charlotte transfer actually narrowed his list down to NCSU and Miami before picking the Wolfpack.
However, sophomore small forward Shaun Kirk will not be available due to entering the concussion protocol program. Kirk hasn’t played in the last seven games.
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