Coastal Carolina had both games played at a slow pace, topping Western Michigan in the season opener Nov. 4, and then falling at East Carolina 63-59 on Saturday.
The Chanticleers only have NC State as a high-major opponent this season. NC State historically likes to play non-conference games against programs with new coaches, and Coastal Carolina fits the bill. Former Wake Forest wing Justin Gray, who went 51-47 overall at Western Carolina in three years, is the new coach. He went 22-10 overall and 11-7 in the Southern Conference last year.
Coastal Carolina (1-1) plays at NC State (2-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Lenovo Center on ACC Network Extra (ESPN-plus).
Overview
Coastal Carolina returns just two players from last year, and one of them is injured. Backup senior point guard Henry Abraham is a key cog off the bench, but sophomore 6-11 center Braeden MacVicar is expected to redshirt this season.
Former Western Carolina and junior college transfer RaSheed Jones leads the team in scoring. Grand Canyon transfer Noah Amenhauser, is a large player at 7-2 and 255 pounds, and is filling in for MacVicar.
Former High Point power forward Denzel Hines, and former junior college guard transfers Joshua Meo and Jordan Battle round out the lineup. Battle attended Utah Valley in 2021-22.
Rankings
Presbyterian finished No. 319 in the NET rankings last year, and NC State was No. 63.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Chanticleers ranked No. No. 319 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 41.
KenPom.com has Presbyterian at No. 282, and NCSU checks in at No. 59.
Shooting
Coastal Carolina is averaging 59.5 points per game, and is shooting 39.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent on three-pointers and 63.6 percent at the free-throw line.
Jones is shooting 60.0 percent from three-point land, and three players have made two three-pointers on the season.
Rebounding
The Chanticleers are averaging 38.5 rebounds and 9.0 offensive rebounds a contest.
Hines leads the way with 7.0 rebounds, and two players are chipping in four boards a game.
Defense
Coastal Carolina is allowing 59.5 points a contest, with opposing teams shooting 34.0 percent from the floor and 20.6 percent on three-pointers.
The Chanticleers have four blocks and six steals in two games played.
Depth
The previously mentioned Abraham is part of a 10-man rotation that plays for Coastal Carolina.
Senior post player Colin Granger is the top scorer off the bench with 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game. The 6-9, 235-pound Granger played his first two years at Ohio and then two years at Western Carolina.
Senior center Mabor Majok, sophomore guard Naz Brown and junior forward Andre Mulibea round out the bench.
Star Watch
Coastal Carolina redshirt sophomore wing RaSheed Jones is off to a hot start this season.
The 6-foot-6, 180-pounder shot 4 of 6 on three-pointers en route to 20 points in the loss against East Carolina on Saturday. He also had 15 points in the win over Western Michigan in the opener.
Jones started his college career at Western Carolina, where he redshirted in 2022-23 for coach Justin Gray. He transferred to Northwest Florida State College last year, where he averaged 11.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. The sharp-shooter from Marion (Ind.) High, which is where former NC State players Scott Wood and Julius Mays played at, shot 39.7 percent from three-point land last year in junior college.
Jones scored over 1,000 points in three years at Marion High, and averaged 15.5 points a contest his senior year.
Jones can create some off the dribble in the pick and roll and is good at spotting up in the corners.
Likely starters
NC State
PG — 12 Michael O’Connell (6-2, 195, Sr., 10.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 7.0 apg, 1.5 spg)
SG — 8 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Sr., 13.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 3.0 spg)
G — 10 Marcus Hill (6-4, 185, Sr., 10.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.0 spg)
F — 3 Dontrez Styles (6-6, 210, Sr., 9.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.0 apg, 2.0 bpg)
C — 1 Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 240, Sr., 12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.5 apg)
Coastal Carolina
PG — 15 Jordan Battle (6-2, 185, Jr., 8.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G — 5 Joshua Meo (6-4, 195, Jr., 4.0 rpg, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 apg)
SG — 2 Rasheed Jones (6-6, 180, Soph., 17.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.5 apg)
PF — 22 Denzel Hines (6-7, 210, Soph., 8.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg)
C — 21 Noah Amenhauser (7-2, 255, Soph., 9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 bpg, 1.0 spg)
Numbers Of Note
13 Place picked out of 14 teams in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll by leagues coaches.
297 Wins at Coastal Carolina coach Cliff Elllis, who retired Dec. 6, 2023, and had two NCAA Tournament berths with the Chanticleers. Ellis coached at Coastal Carolina from 2007-24, and he finished with 909 career wins with previous stops at South Alabama, Clemson and Auburn.
1,946 Career points for Coastal Carolina coach Justin Gray while at Wake Forest (2002-06).
Game within the game: Coastal Carolina's Noah Amenhauser vs. NC State senior centers
Coastal Carolina sophomore center Noah Amenhauser didn’t get much of a chance last year at Grand Canyon.
The 7-2, 255-pound big man had 16 points and six rebounds in 13 games played last year. He entered the transfer portal and Coastal Carolina came calling.
Amenhauser has 18 points and eight rebounds in two games this season with the Chanticleers, eclipsing his numbers from last year. He had 10 points and five boards in the win over Western Michigan, but he fouled out in 13 minutes in the loss against East Carolina.
The former Goodyear (Ariz.) Estrella Foothills High product averaged 21.9 points per game his senior year.
NC State senior centers Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Ben Middlebrooks both started one game apiece, and have delivered this season. The two 6-10 centers have combined for 50 points and 21 rebounds in the two games this season.
Both NC State big men could run Amenhauser off the court, which would lead to senior center Colin Granger to be relied on.
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