Quick hits and notes from NC State’s 73-47 rout of Boston College in front of 7,279 fans at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass., Saturday afternoon.
Play of the game
Freshman forward Jericole Hellems’ three-pointer with 11:48 left put the Pack up 15-13 and started a 19-2 Wolfpack run, during which BC used two timeouts. NCSU took the lead for good on the three.
Once NC State went up 26-15 with 7:27 to go on a fast break layup by redshirt junior wing C.J. Bryce, the Eagles never got the margin within single digits again.
Highlight of the game
Fifth-year senior forward Torin Dorn had an authoritative one-handed dunk of a flat-footed leap near the basket with 3:36 left to put the Pack up 33-17.
Player of the game
This was one of the most balanced efforts of the season by NC State, making choosing one player of the game a challenge. We went with Dorn, whose activeness on the court was indicative of the effort put forth by NC State.
Dorn finished with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting and also had eight rebounds and a steal in 25 minutes.
A true team effort
All nine players got nine minutes or more, and all nine scored. All but sophomore guard Blake Harris made at least two shots from the field. Each of those eight players attempted at least six shots as well, and none shot more than 12.
NC State only had three players reach double digits: Bryce (14), Dorn and redshirt sophomore wing Devon Daniels (10). But it also had three more score at least eight points: sophomore guard Braxton Beverly (nine), Hellems (eight) and redshirt junior center Wyatt Walker (eight).
NC State did not shoot well, just 39.7 percent on 29 of 73 (partly because it made only one of its last nine shots), but it also had 16 assists on those 29 made baskets. That is the fourth highest percentage of assists on made shots in an ACC game this year. The Pack went 7-2 in ACC regular season games where it assisted on at least half of its made shots, 2-7 when it did not.
The effort was also shown on defense where the Pack held the Eagles to just 26.7-percent shooting (16 of 60). That is the lowest shooting percentage given up all season and first time a team was held under 30.0 percent by the Pack.
NC State’s urgency was also reflected on the boards, where the Pack crushed BC 56-36, including 19-11 on the offensive glass which led to a 13-8 second chance points advantage. That was the second most lopsided rebounding advantage in an ACC game behind the plus-22 it compiled in a win at Miami.
Total domination
NC State built, on two occasions, a 20-point lead in the first half and eventually led by 17 at intermission at 41-24. That was NC State’s largest halftime advantage since having an 18-point lead at the break against USC Upstate in its next-to-last non-conference game on the schedule. Its previous largest halftime lead in an ACC game was nine points done twice, home wins over Boston College and Wake Forest.
The 26-point margin topped the 20-point win over the Deacons in Raleigh for its largest victory in an ACC game this season and one of just three victories in league action by at least double digits (it also topped Syracuse by 15 points).
The Pack led by 20 points from the 16:11 mark onward, and it had its biggest victory since beating Loyola Maryland by 33 in its final non-conference contest.
Only Virginia, which beat BC by 27, had a more lopsided win over the Eagles this season
The current ACC Tournament field
NC State’s draw is set. It will play ninth-seeded Clemson Wednesday at noon, with the winner meeting top-seeded Virginia in the quarters. The Pack beat the Tigers at the buzzer and lost by one to the Cavs in overtime during the regular season. Both games were played in Raleigh.
Here is the current field with the 2 and 3 seeds to be determined by who wins Saturday night’s game between UNC and Duke:
1. Virginia (15-2)
2. North Carolina (15-2)
3. Duke (14-3)
4. Florida State (13-5)
5. Virginia Tech (12-6)
6. Syracuse (10-8)
7. Louisville (10-8)
8. NC State (9-9)
9. Clemson (9-9)
10. Georgia Tech (6-12)
11. Boston College (5-13)
12. Miami (5-13)
13. Wake Forest (4-14)
14. Pittsburgh (3-15)
15. Notre Dame (3-15)
Road wins
NC State finished 4-5 on the road in the ACC this year, the same mark it had away from home in conference action a year ago. Interestingly, the Pack has never missed the NCAA Tournament since it expanded to include at-large teams when it had won at least four league road games.
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
20:00-15:54: Boston College 8, NC State 7
15:54-11:14: NC State 8, Boston College 5
11:14-6:54: NC State 11, Boston College 2
6:54-3:09: NC State 7, Boston College 4
3:09-Halftime: NC State 8, Boston College 5
Second half
20:00-15:19: NC State 12, Boston College 6
15:19-11:11: NC State 8, Boston College 5
11:11-7:10: Boston College 6, NC State 4
7:10-2:55: NC State 5, Boston College 4
2:55-Final: NC State 3, Boston College 2
Game scores
Using Hollinger’s measure of productivity, players are graded 1-40 with 10 being average.
Dorn: 12.6
Bryce: 9.1
Walker: 7.9
Redshirt sophomore center DJ Funderburk: 7.2
Beverly: 6.5
Daniels: 5.3
Harris: 4.9
Junior guard Markell Johnson: 4.5
Hellems: 4.5
Plus/minus
Here is the plus/minus for each player (the difference between points scored while they were on the floor) on NCSU.
• Bryce +24 (30 minutes played)
• Johnson +19 (28)
• Dorn +19 (25)
• Walker +19 (19)
• Beverly +15 (27)
• Daniels +15 (25)
• Funderburk +7 (21)
• Hellems +7 (15)
• Harris +5 (9)
What the win means
The Pack finishes the regular season 21-10 overall on the season and 9-9 in the ACC. Boston College closes 14-16 and 5-13. The Pack leads the all-time series 13-11, breaking a tie entering the year with a season sweep. The Pack is 4-6 at BC all-time and snaps a two-game losing skid at Conte Forum.
NC State is 6-6 away from home, including 4-6 in true road games. It is 10-2 in day games (tips before 6 p.m.) and 12-3 on weekend contests. NC State is now 20-2 when ahead at the break.
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: 6-0
- ESPNU: 3-0
- RSN: 5-1
- Raycom: 5-4
- ESPN2: 2-3
- ESPN: 0-2
We will also track NC State’s records by month:
- November: 6-1
- December: 6-0
- January: 4-4
- February: 4-3
- March: 1-2
Other stats of note
• NC State had a 32-24 edge in points in the paint.
• The Pack had an 11-8 win in fast break points.
• Defensively, NC State had five blocks and eight steals. BC had five steals to go with five rejections.
• Both teams had 12 turnovers, but State had a big 15-7 edge in points off turnovers.
• NC State led for 34:01, BC for 4:11 and the game was tied for 1:22. The Pack’s largest lead was 27 and BC’s was four.
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