NC State learned Sunday that it will play Texas Tech on Thursday in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh, Pa.
NC State won five games in five days to win the ACC Tournament and receive the ACC’s automatic qualifier. That resulted in getting the No. 11 seed with a 22-14 record, while Texas Tech is the No. 6 seed after going 23-10 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12. The ACC got five bids, with Pittsburgh the odd team out.
The Red Raiders play small ball under coach Grant McCasland, who is in his first year in Lubbock. McCasland made his reputation in seven years at North Texas, where he reached the round of 32 on 2020-21.
The Mean Green won the NIT in 2022-23 after going 31-7 overall. He also spent one year at Arkansas State and is known for his stingy defense. He spent six years as an assistant coach at Baylor under Scott Drew, reaching the Elite Eight in 2011-12 and Sweet 16 in 2013-14.
Texas Tech’s played four high-major opponents in the non-conference, defeating Michigan and Vanderbilt, but lost to Butler in overtime and Villanova to 11-2 during the first one-third of the season.
The Red Raiders went 11-7 in the Big 12 with key wins over Texas and Oklahoma on the road, and home wins against Kansas, Texas Christian and Baylor.
Texas Tech topped Brigham Young in the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday, but then was destroyed by No. 1-ranked Houston 82-59 on Friday.
The Red Raiders averaged 75.6 points per game, and shot 45.3 percent from the field and 36.5 percent on three-pointers. TTU is allowing 69.3 points a contest.
TTU is led by sophomore point guard Richard “Pop” Isaacs, who is the son of a long-time West Coast grassroots basketball coach. Isaacs was ranked No. 114 overall in the class of 2022 coming out of Henderson (Nev.) Coronado High.
The 6-2 Isaacs scored a season-high 32 points and six three-pointers against BYU on Jan. 20 in a 85-78 win on Jan. 20. He also had 28 points against Sam Houston State on Dec. 28.
Isaacs hit the wall a bit in February, where he went 30 of 117 from the field for 25.6 percent over nine games. That helped lower his field-goal percentage to 35.5 percent on the season.
Senior combo guard Joe Toussaint arrived from West Virginia, where he played for a year, and he also played three years at Iowa. He is averaging a career-best 12.1 points and 4.5 assists per game, and shooting 30.6 percent on three-pointers.
The third guard in the starting lineup is a familiar name in the Triangle. Senior wing Kerwin Walton is averaging 8.4 points per game and shooting 47.0 percent from beyond the arc. The sharp-shooter played two years at North Carolina and now two years at TTU.
Sophomore forward Darrion Williams transferred in from Nevada, and he averaged 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds this season, while shooting 46.7 percent from three-point land (42 of 90). Williams torched Kansas for 30 points and 11 rebounds in the 79-50 win over Kansas on Feb. 12. He missed the Houston game with a sprained ankle.
Fellow Nevada transfer Warren Washington was the starting center, but has been out since Feb. 24. Sophomore Robert Jennings, who is 6-7 and 225 pounds, has been the starter. He is averaging 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per game. he is backed up by Eemeli Yalaho, a 6-8 freshman from Finland.
Sixth man Chance McMillian is averaging 10.9 points per game and shooting 39.6 percent from beyond the arc. He played his first three years at Grand Canyon. He started against Houston with Williams out.
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