Quick hits and notes from NC State basketball’s 72-58 road loss at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Saturday afternoon.
Play Of The Game
NC State and Virginia Tech were trading baskets at a crucial point in the second half, the Hokies scoring to go up five points and NC State answering to make it three. After VT redshirt freshman guard Tyrece Radford scored to put the Hokies up 57-52 with 6:48 left in the contest, NC State senior guard Markell Johnson this time tried to answer with a three.
Instead, Johnson shot an airball, and the ensuing result was Radford getting free for an impressively executed fast break dunk. That sparked what would become a decisive 11-0 run for Virginia Tech.
Highlight Of The Game
Player Of The Game
Virginia Tech freshman Landers Nolley looks a lot better than his No. 49 ranking in the 2018 class would indicate. After sitting out last season when he didn’t qualify academically, Nolley has blown up this winter.
He started the year off with 30 points in a season-opening win over Clemson. He nearly matched that career-high against NC State. Nolley was on fire at times, twice hitting contested, long threes to beat the shot clock. He finished with 29 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field, including 4 of 7 threes. He also connected on 9 of 10 free throws.
Nolley entered Saturday ranked fourth in the ACC in scoring at 17.9 per game. He improved that stat to 19.7 points after this game.
Another Cold Performance Against Virginia Tech
It was not epically bad like last year’s 47-24 loss in Raleigh, but NC State had another poor shooting game against the Hokies. The Wolfpack shot 22 of 69 from the field for 31.9 percent, and it was 6 of 30 on three-pointers.
That was easily a season-low for overall shooting, worse than the 38.0 percent in an overtime loss to Georgia Tech in the opener.
It’s becoming no secret for NC State. When it shoots above 45.0 percent from the field, the Pack is 9-0. When it shoots less than 45.0 percent, it is 2-5. One of those wins was when NC State shot 44.9 percent against FIU.
What notably hurt the Pack was its inability to convert short shots in the paint over a small Virginia Tech team. According to a shot chart provided by Virginia Tech, NC State went 0 for 10 on attempts in the paint that were not dunks or layups.
Johnson and sophomore forward Jericole Hellems in particular struggled. Both players shot an identical 2 for 14 from the field and were a combined 3 of 14 on threes.
Beat By Three Players
Lost in NC State scoring only 24 points a year ago was that Virginia Tech was pretty bad on offense that day as well. This time, VT was fortunate to have three big performances. Nolley’s could have been expected. Radford’s probably not.
Radford scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, making a living around the basket despite being only 6-foot-1. Radford had only scored in double figures four times prior to Saturday.
Freshman guard Jalen Cone, whom NC State made a run at in the spring, followed up a 19-point performance at Syracuse with 10 points Saturday. He also hit a long, shot-clock beating three-pointer.
Nolley, Radford and Cone nearly outscored NC State with 57 combined points.
Positives For NC State?
Redshirt junior center D.J. Funderburk continued his strong week. After scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a home win over Notre Dame, Funderburk was the best player on the offensive side of the court for NC State. He made 7 of 13 shots and finished with 18 points and nine boards.
Redshirt freshman center Manny Bates reached 50 blocks on the season by rejecting two shots, and redshirt junior guard Devon Daniels added three rejections himself. Daniels is an unusually gifted shot blocker for a guard, and that matched his career high he set last season at Notre Dame. He has 30 blocks in 52 games in a Wolfpack uniform.
Spotted At The Game
Fifth-year senior guard C.J. Bryce, the Pack’s leading scorer and rebounder, made the trip and participated in warm-ups, fueling speculation that he would play for the first time after missing three games with a concussion. However, Bryce, who did return to practice Friday, did not play. NC State is 2-2 in his absence.
NC State will host Miami on Wednesday.
What The Loss Means
NC State is 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, and Virginia Tech is 12-4 and 3-2. The Wolfpack lead the all-time series 40-18, but it falls to 5-6 in Blacksburg's Cassell Coliseum. Pack head coach Kevin Keatts remains winless against teams from the state of Virginia in the ACC.
The Pack is 2-4 away from home this year, including 2-3 in true road games. NC State is 6-3 in day games (played before 6 p.m.), 7-2 in weekend games and 1-4 when trailing at halftime.
The game was broadcast on RSN. During the season, we’ll keep track of how NC State does on the various networks.
- ACC Network Extra: 3-0
- ESPN+: 1-0
- RSN: 2-1
- ACC Network: 3-2
- ESPN2: 2-2
We will also track NC State’s records by month:
- November: 5-2
- December: 5-1
- January: 1-2
Other Stats Of Note
• NC State won the battle in the paint, 26-22.
• The Hokies outscored the Pack 15-4 in fast break points.
• State’s bench beat Virginia Tech’s reserves, 29-15.
• The Pack had the slight edge in turnover margin 9-8, and more importantly, in points off them, 13-10.
• NC State won the battle on the boards, 43-41 overall, while State had a 13-7 edge on the offensive glass. The Pack had a win in second-chance points, 10-4.
• Defensively, NC State had five blocks and nabbed seven steals. The Hokies had three blocks and six steals.
• Virginia Tech led for 32:03 (marking the third straight game where the opponent for NCSU led for more than 30 minutes), NC State for 5:57 and the game was tied for the opening 2:00 seconds. The Hokies’ largest lead was 14 points while NC State’s was 10.
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