Quick hits from NC State's loss at Florida State

Quick hits and notes from NC State Wolfpack basketball’s 105-73 loss at Florida State inside of Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla., in front of a limited crowd of 2,837.

It's hard to pinpoint a moment in this game that changed the tide in what was, bluntly stating, a beatdown.

NC State hung around for about five minutes before the floodgates opened up, and the beginning of that can be pinpointed to when fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk picked up a technical foul arguing a non-call on a rebound with 14:21 left and FSU leading 15-11.

That started 13-2 Florida State run to blow the game over.

Florida State senior guard RayQuan Evans was a perfect example of FSU's efficiency on offense. He made 9 of 11 shots from the field, including both of his three-pointers, and was 4 of 4 at the free throw line and finished with a game-high 24 points.

Evans also added a team-high six rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.

Many fans have been wanting to see the freshmen duo Cam Hayes and Shakeel Moore starting together in the backcourt, and they got their wish on Wednesday evening. Moore got his first career start, and Hayes was in the lineup for the third consecutive contest.

Also, because redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates was out with a left ankle injury he sustained late in the home loss to Miami on Saturday, Funderburk was back in the starting lineup for the first time since the first two games.

It was the sixth different starting lineup combination in 10 games this season for the Wolfpack.

Moore scored six points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field. Hayes was 3 of 11 from the field for nine points and added a game-high five assists with just two turnovers.

Ironically, for a second straight game, redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen scored well as a reserve after starting the first eight contests. Allen made 6 of 8 shots from the field, including 4 of 5 three-pointers, for 16 points, which was two points off his career-high. In the loss to Miami, Allen also made 4 of 5 threes and had 14 points.

The 32-point final margin proved to be the biggest defeat in head coach Kevin Keatts' first four seasons thus far at NC State.

That can partially be explained because Florida State shot 70.7 percent from the field, which is the third highest allowed ever in a game by the Wolfpack. The record was Maryland shooting 30 of 41 from the field for 73.2 percent in 1980.

For the first time since the COVID-19 pause, freshman center Ebenezer Dowuona got back onto the floor.

Dowuona was averaging 9.0 minutes per game before he was among the five players that had to sit out multiple games. He has yet to play in ACC action but played three minutes on Wednesday.

Also getting his first taste of ACC action was freshman forward Nick Farrar, who missed his one shot attempt in five minutes of playing time.

Here we keep track of the scoring between each official timeout to help give an idea of the game flow:

First half

20:00-15:29: Florida State 13, NC State 9

15:29-12:12: Florida State 11, NC State 4

12:12-7:49: Florida State 9, NC State 2

7:49-2:58: Florida State 14, NC State 9

2:58-Halftime: Miami 10, NC State 8

Second half

20:00-14:28: Florida State 18, NC State 13

14:28-10:59: NC State 7, Florida State 6

10:59-7:29: Florida State 8, NC State 6

7:29-2:38: Florida State 12, NC State 11

2:38-Final: Florida State 16, NC State 15

Here is the plus/minus for each player (the difference between points scored while they were on the floor) on NCSU:

• Dowuona: +3 (3 minutes played)

• Farrar: +2 (5)

• Redshirt freshman wing Dereon Seabron: -7 (11)

• Freshman forward Jaylon Gibson: -10 (11)

• Allen: -11 (16)

• Hayes: -12 (22)

• Senior guard Braxton Beverly: -16 (17)

• Funderburk: -23 (17)

• Moore: -26 (25)

• Fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels: -29 (32)

• Junior forward Jericole Hellems: -31 (34)

Using Hollinger’s measure of productivity, players are graded 1-40 with 10 being average for an NBA player.

Allen — 12.6

Daniels — 8.6

Hellems — 8.6

Hayes — 5.9

Funderburk — 5.5

Seabron — 3.3

Moore — 0.4

Gibson — 0.3

Farrar — 0.3

Dowuona — 0.0

Beverly — 0.0

NC State falls to 6-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC while Florida State is 6-2 and 1-1. The Wolfpack is now 1-3 away from home (0-3 in true road games) and 3-3 in night games (tipoff after 6 p.m.). NC State is 5-3 in weekday contests.

This game was televised on ACC Network. Throughout the year we will keep track of the Pack's record on the different channels:

• ESPNU: 1-0

• ACC Network: 4-2

• RSN: 1-2

We will also track NC State’s records by month:

• November: 2-0

• December: 4-1

• January: 0-3

• FSU crushed NC Sate in the paint, 52-28.

• The Seminoles had a decisive edge in fast-break points, 27-7.

• The Noles; bench outscored NC State's reserves, 44-25.

• Both teams had 11 turnovers, but Florida State had the advantage in points off turnovers, 16-9.

• FSU won on the boards 32-19 in overall rebounds, but NC State had a 9-6 edge on the offensive glass due to shooting 44.4 percent compared to FSU's 70.7. The Noles actually rebounded six of their 17 misses. Both teams had 10 second-chance points.

• Defensively, NC State had three blocks and five steals. FSU had seven blocks and added six steals.

• NC State’s largest lead was one point and it led for 32 seconds. FSU's largest advantage was 36 points and it led for 38:15.

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