NC State has the perfect opponent to help its postseason resume in March.

NC State hosts Colgate at 2 p.m. Saturday at PNC Arena on ACC Network Extra. The Raiders (16-2 last year) represented the Patriot League in the NCAA Tournament last year, and return four starters and their sixth man. NC State’s first opponent, Bucknell, is also from the Patriot League.

Colgate topped Northeastern 65-58 in its season opener Tuesday. Below is the scouting report on Colgate, who was picked second in the Patriot League in the preseason and first in the league by Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook.

The Raiders led the nation last year in defensive three-point field-goal percentage (26.4), was third in points per game (85.2) and third in three-point field-goal percentage (40.3).

Colgate played 15 games going into the NCAA Tournament last year, going 11-1 in the Patriot League. Like Bucknell, Colgate didn’t start its season until Jan. 2 due to Covid. Seven games were played against Boston University, four games against Army and four contests against Holy Cross. The lone regular season loss was the second meeting against Army on Jan. 3.

Colgate went toe-to-toe with Arkansas for the first 33 minutes before the Razorbacks pulled away for a 85-68 win in the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas went on a 22-8 run to finish off the game.

Four starters return from the squad, plus super senior sixth man Jack Ferguson, who is now a starter. Colgate has road games games at NC State, Harvard, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and St. John’s.

Rankings

Colgate finished No. 30 in the NET rankings last year.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Raiders current ranked No. 81 overall, and NC State is No. 53.

KenPom.com has Colgate at No. 116, and NCSU checks in at No. 52.

Shooting

Colgate will let it fly from deep, and went 8 of 23 from beyond the arc in the opener in the win over Northeastern. Star guard Nelly Cummings went 5 of 6 on three-pointers en route to 25 points. He shot 38.4 percent from beyond the three-point line last year.

Senior wing Jack Ferguson went 1 of 7 in the opener, but he might be one of the top five shooters NC State faces this season. He went 38 of 75 for 50.7 percent from beyond the arc last year, but didn’t have enough attempts or he would have led the country.

Colgate shot 12 of 27 on three-pointers for 44.4 percent against Arkansas last year, but 39.7 percent from the field.

Rebounding

Northeastern out-rebounded Colgate 39-32 on Tuesday. Guard Tucker Richardson and stretch four Ryan Moffatt had seven rebounds apiece.

Big center Keegan Records led the squad with 6.9 rebounds per game, and the Raiders averaged 39.7 boards a contest. Richardson was second with 5.8 rebounds, and backup center Jeff Woodward grabbed 4.3 rebounds in just 16.1 minutes per game. Woodward is a massive 6-foot-11 and 270 pounds, while Records checks in at 6-10 and 250 pounds.

Defense

Colgate held Northeastern to 40 percent shooting and 3 of 14 from three-point land, for 21.4 percent. Records had the two blocked shots and Colgate recorded six steals and forced 16 turnovers.

Opponents shot 41.0 percent from the field last year, and 26.4 percent on three-pointers. The latter led the nation. Records and Woodward both averaged 1.1 blocks per game a year ago.

Depth

Olivier Lynch-Daniels came off the bench for 21 minutes against Northeastern. He’s a Chapel Hill, N.C., native, but attended Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy. Lynch-Daniels had seven points and three rebounds against the Huskies. He attended Houston Baptist his first two years before making the move to Colgate.

Woodward and sophomore post player Sam Thomson rotate with Records. Woodward averaged 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game last year, and led the Patriot League in field-goal percentage (65.8 percent). He had 11 points in 12 minutes against Arkansas.

Thomson chipped in 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.4 minutes per game.

The all-around Tucker Richardson is good across the board. He averaged 11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game last year en route to third-team All-Patriot League.

The 6-5, 210-pounder from Flemington, N.J., had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the season opener. He isn’t a true point guard, but he’ll help replace star guard Jordan Burns, along with senior Nelly Cummings.

Richardson scored in double digits in 11 of 16 games he played in last year. He had three double-doubles for points for rebounds, including netting 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a 82-72 win over Boston on Feb. 20, 2021.

Richardson shot 45.8 percent from the field, and 36.5 percent from three-point land. He has shot 141-of-371 for 38.0 percent on three-pointers in his college career.

NC State

PG — 3 Cam Hayes (6-3, 180, Soph., 9.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.0 spg)

SG — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, Jr., 13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 1.0 spg)

SF — 1 Dereon Seabron (6-7, 180, R-Soph., 18.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 3.0 spg)

PF — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 200, Sr., 22.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 1.0 spg)

C — Ebenezer Dowuona (6-11, 225, Soph., 2.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 2.0 bpg) or 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-Jr., played one minute, injured)

Colgate

PG — 15 Tucker Richardson (6-5, 210, Sr., 12.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.0 spg)

SG — 0 Nelly Cummings (6-0, 180, Sr., 25.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.0 apg)

G — 13 Jack Ferguson (6-3, 180, Sr., 3.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 2.0 spg)

PF — 4 Ryan Moffatt (6-6, 220, Jr., 9.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.0 spg)

C — 14 Keegan Records (6-10, 250, Jr., 2.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)

1: Former McDonald’s All-American’s who have played at Colgate — center Adonal Foyle, who played for the Raiders from 1995-97.

4: Appearances in the NCAA Tournament for Colgate — 1995, 1996, 2019 and 2021.

71: Years since NC State last played Colgate. The Wolfpack won 85-76 on Dec. 30, 1950.

It remains to be seen how much Colgate senior guard Nelly Cummings and NCSU freshman wing Terquavion Smith will face each other Saturday, but both are explosive scorers.

Cummings went 5 of 6 on three-pointer’s for 25 points in Colgate’s win over Northeastern on Tuesday. Smith came off the bench for 20 points and four steals in 31 minutes in the win over Bucknell in his college debut.

Cummings had a season-high 24 points and four three-pointers against Army in the season opener last year, so he clearly likes first games.

Cummings started his career at Bowling Green and transferred to Colgate in 2018. He averaged 10.8 points per game his first year at Colgate in 2019-20, and then 12.4 points a contest last year. He shot 46.3 percent from the field and 38.4 percent on three-pointers.

Follow on Twitter:

@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal

Subscribe for free on YouTube:

For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central

Like on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/TheWolfpackCentral