NC State had no desire to play in the NIT, but that proved to be its fate and it will face Hofstra at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Reynolds Coliseum on ESPN2.
The Pride went 27-7 overall and 15-3 in the CAA, but lost 82-74 to Northeastern in the league tournament title game. NC State went 22-11 and had hoped to play in the NCAA Tournament, but it ended up as a second seed in the NIT.
NC State last played Hofstra during the 2014-2015 season at PNC Arena. Former NCSU wing Ralston Turner had 24 points in the 76-64 victory.
Here is a scouting report on Hofstra:
Season Overview
Hofstra won the regular season CAA title, but ultimately lost two of three against Northeastern, with the last loss a 82-74 setback in the conference tournament.
The Pride only played one high power conference opponent this season, falling 80-69 to Maryland on Nov. 16. Hofstra also lost 69-67 in overtime to VCU on Nov. 24, who also made the NCAA Tournament.
Besides Northeastern, James Madison and UNC Wilmington also defeated Hofstra in CAA action.
Rankings
In the NET rankings, Hofstra finished ranked No. 76 in the country. ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has Hofstra at No. 75, and KenPom.com has the Pride at No. 94.
The Pride finished ranked No. 50 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.
For comparison, NC State finished 26nd in BPI, 33rd in both the NET and KenPom.com and 97th in RPI.
Shooting
Hofstra has five different players who made at least 32 three-pointers, and all five made at least 34.8 percent of its attempts. Senior guard Justin Wright-Foreman went 108 of 252 from three-point range for 42.9 percent, and is obviously the biggest reason Hofstra led the CAA with 83.6 points per game.
Overall, the Pride shot 38.9 percent from three-point land, 48.8 percent from the field, and four different players were over 80 percent at the foul line. Hofstra led the CAA in all three categories, and finished second nationally in free-throw percentage (79.9).
Rebounding
Hofstra only averaged 33.4 rebounds per game and part of that might be due to playing mostly guards. That puts a lot of pressure on Purdue graduate transfer Jacquil Taylor, who wasn’t a factor for the Boilermakers, but has found his groove at Hofstra.
Taylor averaged 8.8 boards per game, and enters the NIT Tournament on a mini-rebounding roll. The 6-10, 235-pounder has grabbed 54 rebounds over his last five contests. He had 17 rebounds in the 91-82 double-overtime victory against Towson on Feb. 21, and 17 boards in the overtime loss to VCU.
Defense
Taylor not only is the main rebounder for the Pride, but the lone shot-blocker too at 1.9 blocks a contest. He had seven blocked shots in that previously mentioned Towson game, and had 10 blocked shots combined in the three CAA Tournament contests. Hofstra was second in both blocks (3.4) and steals (6.5) in the CAA.
The Pride allowed 72.6 points per game and opponents shot 45.2 percent from the field, which were fifth and four respectively in the league.
Depth
Hofstra has mostly played three players off the bench, but had a six-man rotation in the CAA title loss against Northeastern. Sophomore guard Jalen Ray averaged 7.6 points in 23.0 minutes per game and shot 39.8 percent on three-pointers this season. The 6-1, 175-pounder from Hampton, Va., cracked double figures in nine games this season.
Senior post player Dan Dwyer was a graduate transfer from Pennsylvania, and junior post player Stafford Trueheart appeared in 29 games this season, but not the last two.
Star Watch
NC State coach Kevin Keatts is very familiar with Wright-Foreman, who is second in the country at 27.0 points per game.
Keatts and NCSU redshirt junior wing C.J. Bryce both battled Wright-Foreman during the 2016-2017 season while they were at for UNC Wilmington. UNCW won the first meeting 84-76, with Wright-Foreman scoring 13 points, and Bryce had 16 points and 10 boards. The Seahawks also won the second meeting 83-76 and Bryce had 23 points and seven rebounds, and Wright-Foreman went 15 of 15 at the free-throw line en route to 26 points.
The 6-2, 190-pound Wright-Foreman averaged 18.1 points his sophomore year, and then jumped up to 24.4 points a contest his junior year. His improved shooting — 42.9 percent from three-point land and 85.8 percent on free throws — led to a jump to 27.0 points per game this season.
Wright-Foreman scored at least 42 points in three different games, including 48 points and seven three-pointers in a 93-87 win over William & Mary on Feb. 9. He also had 42 points against Northeastern on Jan. 5, and 42 points in a 78-74 overtime win against Delaware in the CAA Tournament on March 11.
Likely starters:
NC State
PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Jr., 11.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.0 spg)
SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 195, R-Jr., 11.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg)
G — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Soph., 9.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.5 apg)
F — 2 Torin Dorn (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 13.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg)
C — 33 Wyatt Walker (6-9, 240, R-Jr., 5.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.9 apg)
Hofstra
PG — 4 Desure Buie (6-0, 160, Sr., 10.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 5.2 apg, 2.4 spg)
SG — 3 Justin Wright-Foreman (6-2, 190, Sr., 27.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg)
G — 0 Tareq Coburn (6-4, 195, Jr., 8.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.8 apg)
SF — 5 Eli Pemberton (6-5, 195, Jr., 15.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.4 apg)
C — 23 Jacquil Taylor (6-10, 235, Sr., 8.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.9 bpg)
Stats To Watch
Field-goal percentage game: The Pride have gone 16-1 when shooting over 50 percent from the field, and 24-5 when shooting 30 percent or better on three-pointers.
Seventy is magic number: Hofstra is an impressive 54-6 in games when it has held opponents to under 70 points under head coach Joe Mihalich. The Pride is 10-1 at achieving that this season. The record goes to 26-1 when allowing 60 points or less.
Smart with the ball: Hofstra might play at a faster tempo, but the Pride has been pretty good with ball security. Hofstra is only averaging 9.8 turnovers per game this season, which ranks ninth in the country. Hofstra also ranks 15th in assist-to-turnover ratio, including impressively having 25 assists and one turnover in its win over Elon on Feb. 7.
Game Within The Game: Hofstra’s Eli Pemberton vs. NCSU's Torin Dorn
It remains to be seen what the defensive matchups end up, but it would be hard to put sophomore guard Braxton Beverly on Wright-Foreman, and that might mean he guards junior wing Tareq Coburn.
That would leave NC State fifth-year senior forward Torin Dorn on Hofstra junior wing Eli Pemberton. He’s overlooked a bit due to the considerable shadow of Wright-Foreman, but he’s had an impressive college career so far.
The 6-5, 195-pounder has averaged over 12.8 points all three years, and has shot 39.1 percent from three-point land in his career. Pemberton is averaging 15.4 points per game and making 35.5 percent of his three-pointers this season. He has scored in double figures in all but five games, and had a season-high 26 points in a 86-72 win over Charleston on Jan. 19. He has cracked 20-plus points in eight games.
The 6-5, 210-pound Dorn now knows his college career could end at any moment, and he’ll want to enjoy his last Reynolds Coliseum experiences. He’s averaging 13.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season, but had a combined 15 points and 19 boards in the two games in the ACC Tournament.
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