Quick hits from NC State's 85-57 win over Saint Peter's
Quick hits and notes from NC State’s fifth straight easy win, an 85-57 rout over Saint Peter’s in front of an announced crowd of 13,308 fans Tuesday evening at PNC Arena in Raleigh.
Play of the game
To Saint Peter’s credit, it came out fired up to start the game and played on even terms with the Wolfpack through the first five minutes. The Peacocks even led 13-10 when NC State fifth-year senior wing Torin Dorn nailed a corner three-pointer to tie the contest.
That was the start of what would be a 39-12 stretch that would put the Pack up 59-25 when junior point guard Markell Johnson dunked the ball with about 20 seconds left in the first half (see highlight of the game).
Highlight of the game
Player of the game
Truthfully it’s a bit of a challenge to find one. All 10 of NC State’s players scored at least four points but none scored more than 12 points. The choice, though, is fifth-year senior reserve wing Eric Lockett, who showed a diverse skill set in 20 minutes off the bench.
Lockett’s career highs, all set before he arrived in Raleigh, exemplify his range of skills: 30 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, six steals and three blocks
On Tuesday, Lockett had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including making 2 of 4 three-pointers, tied for team-high with six rebounds and had three assists. It is the first time Lockett, a Florida International grad transfer, scored in double-digits in a game this season.
The two halves by the numbers
Second-year head coach Kevin Keatts alluded in his postgame press conference to the tale of two halves for NC State. For some better perspective, here are the stat differentials between first half and second, highlighting the slump that the Wolfpack went into on offense.
| Stat | First Half | Second Half |
|---|---|---|
|
Points |
59 |
26 |
|
Field goals |
18-30 (60.0 percent) |
9-22 (40.9 percent) |
|
Three-pointers |
9-11 (81.8 percent) |
1-9 (11.1 percent) |
|
Free throws |
14-16 (87.5 pecent) |
7-11 (63.6 percent) |
|
Turnovers |
2 |
10 |
|
Assists |
16 |
4 |
Some early trends
NC State is five games into the season. Here are some the noteworthy statistical trends, granted the numbers were all accumulated against weak competition:
• NC State is shooting 49 of 107 on three-pointers, or 45.8 percent. At the conclusion of Tuesday’s contest, that was good enough to tie Radford for seventh best in the NCAA.
• The Wolfpack has had assists on 104 of its 170 made shots. Only UNC, with 111, had more assists in the NCAA during its first five games. The assists per game average of 20.8 is tied for seventh nationally with Dartmouth.
• Keatts’ defensive philosophy is built around getting steals and turnovers. NC State entered Tuesday averaging 10.0 steals per game, but was only able to get six against Saint Peter’s. It also forced 15 Peacock turnovers, slightly below the average of 18.75.
The Pack was leading the ACC in both categories going into Tuesday.
• NC State had the best rebounding margin of any team in the country through its first four games at plus-21.8. That number took a hit, though, when it won the battle on the boards by just six (38-32) against Saint Peter’s.
Not challenged yet
Another noteworthy stat coming into Tuesday: scoring margin. The average margin of victory of 41.5 points was second in the country, and while leading by 32 points at halftime it figured NC State was on its way to improving that figure.
After being outscored by Saint Peter’s by four points in the second half, NC State’s season average for margin of victory fell to 38.8 points, which drops the Pack to third nationally.
Here though partially explains why NC State has not been challenged. These are the KenPom.com ratings of the first five opponents in order (out of 353 teams):
No. 230 — Saint Peter’s (W, 82-57)
No. 323 — UNC Asheville (W, 100-49)
No. 325 — Mount St. Mary’s (W, 105-55)
No. 336 — Maine (W, 82-63)
No. 346 — Maryland Eastern Shore (W, 95-49)
For those wondering, here are the ratings of the future non-conference opponents:
No. 10 — Auburn (Dec. 19)
No. 15 — at Wisconsin (Nov. 27)
No. 35 — Penn State in Atlantic City, N.J. (Dec. 15)
No. 57 — Vanderbilt in Miami (Dec. 1)
No. 191 — Mercer (Nov. 24)
No. 303 — Loyola-Maryland (Dec. 28)
No. 320 — USC Upstate (Dec. 22)
No. 333 — Western Carolina (Dec. 5)
NC State itself was rated No. 31 following the win over Saint Peter’s.
Spotted at the game
A few NC State football players managed to score some tickets in the student section for the game. Defensive tackle Alim McNeill, defensive end Derrick Eason and running back Trent Pennix, all freshmen, were at the contest.
Scoring between official timeouts
This year we have kept track of the scoring between each official timeout to help give an idea of the game flow:
First half
20:00-14:33: NC State 13, Saint Peter’s 13
14:33-12:13: NC State 7, Saint Peter’s 0
12:13-7:40: NC State 13, Saint Peter’s 2
7:40-3:49: NC State 17, Saint Peter’s 3
3:49-Halftime: NC State 9, Saint Peter’s 8
Second half
20:00-14:34: Saint Peter’s 11, NC State 4
14:34-11:57: NC State 5, Saint Peter’s 0
11:57-7:16: Saint Peter’s 6, NC State 3
7:16-3:18: NC State 10, Saint Peter’s 5
3:18-Final: Saint Peter’s 8, NC State 4
Plus/minus
Here is the plus/minus for each player (the difference between points scored while they were on the floor) on NCSU.
• Sophomore guard Braxton Beverly +24 (22 minutes played)
• Bryce +22 (28)
• Johnson +20 (25)
• Lockett +17 (20)
• Hellems +17 (17)
• Funderburk +17 (13)
• Dorn +13 (23)
• Harris +13 (16)
• Daniels -4 (15)
• Walker +1 (21)
What the win means
NC State is 2-0 all time against Saint Peter’s. The other win was a 44-33 victory in December of 1981 in what was the second-fewest points allowed by a Jim Valvano-coached team at NC State.
Keatts is two wins shy of 100 for his college coaching career (98-40), and NC State has now won 26 of its last 27 games at PNC Arena against non-conference opponents.
The game was broadcast on the Regional Sports Network. During the season, we’ll keep track of how NC State does on the various networks:
- ACC Network Extra: 3-0
- RSN: 2-0
We will also track NC State’s records by month:
- November: 5-0
- December: 0-0
- January: 0-0
- February: 0-0
- March: 0-0
Other stats of note
• NC State won the battle in the paint, outscoring the visitors 34-28.
• The Wolfpack won the turnover margin 15-12 and had a 21-17 edge in points off turnovers.
• NCSU had a 9-4 win in fast-break points.
• Defensively, NC State had six blocks and six steals. The Peacocks had five steals and one rejection.
• NCSU had a 36-32 edge on the boards, but was out-rebounded 12-9 on the offensive glass (NC State did shoot 51.9 percent compared to 33.3 percent for Saint Peter’s). The Peacocks had an 18-12 advantage in second-chance points.
• The Wolfpack bench outscored the Saint Peter’s reserves 42-12.
• NC State led for 34:58, Saint Peter’s for 2:27 and the game was tied for 2:35. NC State’s largest lead was 34 points and Saint Peter’s was four.
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