NC State is aiming to snap a three-game losing streak at Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. Saturday. The slumping Panthers have lost six straight games and are 12-11 overall and 2-8 in the ACC. NCSU fell out of the top 25 polls and are 16-7 overall and 4-6 in the league.
'The Wolfpack won the first meeting 86-80 in Raleigh, with redshirt sophomore wing Devon Daniels, fifth-year senior wing Eric Lockett and redshirt sophomore center DJ Funderburk combining for 54 points off the bench.
Season Overview
Pittsburgh is one of five ACC teams with two league victories, and will need to scratch and claw down the stretch to get into the NIT.
The young nucleus of freshmen Xavier Johnson, Trey McGowens and Au’Diese Toney, plus sophomore Terrell Brown bode well for the Panthers’ future. NC State offered Johnson and McGowens at various points in their prep careers, and Toney hails from Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity Christian.
The Panthers surprised Louisville with a 89-86 overtime home win Jan. 9, and also topped Florida State 75-62 at home Jan. 14. McGowens had 33 points against the Cardinals and 30 against the Seminoles.
Rankings
In the newly established NET rankings done by the NCAA, through games of Feb. 7, the Panthers are ranked No. 87 in the country. Kenpom.com has Pittsburgh at No. 74 in the country, and ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Panthers at No. 81.
The Tar Heels are ranked No. 136 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.
For comparison, NC State is 21st in BPI, 34th in NET, 42nd in Kenpom.com and 123rd in RPI.
Shooting
The Panthers have four players who have launched at least 57 three-point attempts this season, but then two of those four are under 30 percent. Senior forward Jared Wilson-Frame has the green light from deep, with 151 of his 218 field-goal attempts from beyond the arc, and he’s connecting at 39.1 percent. Johnson has been surprisingly good during his freshman year, making 30 of 76 for 39.5 percent.
Pitt is seventh in the ACC in three-point field-goal percentage (32.9), but 12th from the floor at 43.3 percent. The Panthers up-tempo offense has led to 1,313 field-goal attempts, which is sixth in the league, but has also led to the most trips to the free-throw line. Pittsburgh has attempted an ACC-best 563 free throws, making 400 of them for 71.0 percent (which ranks 10th).
Rebounding
Freshman wing Au’Diese Toney leads Pittsburgh in rebounding at 5.8 boards per contest, despite being 6-6 and 210 pounds. Ten times he has grabbed at least seven rebounds in a game. Both Wilson-Frame and sophomore center Terrell Brown are averaging 4.8 rebounds a contest.
Pitt is minus-0.1 in rebounding margin, which is 10th in the ACC, and tied for sixth in the league with 37.6 boards per game. The Panthers are eighth in defensive rebounds a contest at 26.1, and seventh in the league in grabbing offensive boards.
Defense
Capel and crew have tried to hang their hats on the defensive end, and it’s aided by Brown averaging two blocks per game. He had nine blocks, 10 points and five rebounds in the 68-54 win over Colgate on Dec. 29, and had a five-game stretch (Dec. 29-Jan. 14) with a combined 26 blocks, including four against the Wolfpack.
The Panthers are fifth in the ACC in defensive field-goal percentage (39.9) and fourth in the league on teams trying to connect on three-pointers at 30.7 percent, one spot higher than NC State. Opposing have tried 544 three-point field goals, which is 89 more attempts than teams have tried against NC State.
Depth
The Panthers typically play four players off the bench, with perhaps senior guard Sidy N’Dir being the most explosive. The New Mexico State graduate transfer is averaging 5.5 points in 18.4 minutes per game, and is shooting 34.3 percent on three-pointers. He had 15 points in the loss at Wake Forest on Tuesday.
Wings Malik Ellison, a St. John’s transfer, and Khameron Davis have shown flashes. Davis in particular is an adept outside shooter, who is 9 of 29 from beyond the arc. Ellison, the son of former Louisville great Pervis Ellison, had eight points and eight boards against the Demon Deacons, and nine points and 11 rebounds in teh 65-56 loss vs. Syracuse on Feb. 2. He has cracked double figures in six contests.
Junior Kene Chukwuka of Sweden is the main reserve in the post. The 6-9, 225-pounder is averaging 3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 17.0 minutes per game. He is shooting 47.1 percent from the field, and had a season-high 13 points plus six boards in the 84-75 win vs. Troy on Nov. 12.
Star Watch
Pitt freshman point guard Xavier Johnson is an unlikely star out of Arlington (Va.) Bishop O’Connell. NC State’s previous coaching staff offered him during the summer going into his junior year of high school after he played well on Team Takeover 16s traveling team. He eventually picked Nebraska, but fell out of the rankings and was a Rivals.com three-star prospect.
When Nebraska underwent some staff changes last spring, he was released from his letter of intent and the new staff at Pittsburgh pounced on him. The 6-3, 190-pounder is relentless at driving to the rim and drawing fouls, shooting 115 of 143 at the line for 80.4 percent en route to an impressive 17 points per game. He chips in 4.5 assists and 3.7 boards a contest and is surprisingly shooting 39.5 percent on three-pointers, which was a weakness in high school.
Johnson got into early foul trouble in the first meeting against NC State, but erupted in the second half to finish with 25 points in just 24 minutes. He recently had a career-high 30 points at Clemson in a 82-69 loss Jan. 29, and he went for 21 points and 10 assists in the overtime win against Louisville for his second career double-double.
Stats To Watch
Battle at the line: Pittsburgh loves to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line, while NC State is more of a jump-shooting team on offense. However, the freshmen for the Panthers were foul-prone in the first meeting against the Wolfpack, with Toney and McGowens fouling out and Johnson missed time in the first half after picking up two quick fouls. NCSU went 19 of 25 on free throws and Pitt was 24 of 28 at the line. The Wolfpack’s 25 free throw attempts was the most in ACC action.
Pitt’s bench struggles: NC State won’t likely outscore Pittsburgh’s bench 54-9 like in the first meeting, but the Wolfpack should hold an advantage. Sophomore wing Khameron Davis made three three-pointers for the Panther’s lone bench. He has scored a combined nine points in the seven games since playing NC State.
Shooting well usually leads to wins for Pitt: The Panthers are averaging 81.1 points on 47.6 percent shooting in their 12 wins this season, but the numbers fall to 65.1 points and 38.6 percent shooting in the 11 losses. Pitt shot 45.5 percent from the field and scored 80 points buck that trend in the first meeting against NC State. However, the Panthers also allowed 21 offensive rebounds.
Game Within The Game: C.J. Bryce vs. Trey McGowens
Bryce and McGowens were almost teammates at NC State, and also past players for the Team United traveling team organization. Bryce once played with Team United with former NC State wing Shaun Kirk and UNC post player Luke Maye. McGowens played for the organization during the spring and summer of 2017, and then switched to Upward Stars.
McGowens was originally in the class of 2018, but made the move to Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., where he moved into the class of 2019. He eventually became a Wolfpack target in 2019, but last spring decided to go back to his original class and signed with the Panthers.
McGowens is averaging 12.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, and shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 29.0 percent on three-pointers. However, he has hit a wall a bit the last four games, combing to go 6 of 25 from the field and 1 of 8 on 3-pointers for 20 points. He has reached double digits in 13 games, including the aforementioned 33-point outburst against Louisville and 30 against FSU.
NC State did a good job of bottling up McGowens in the first meeting. He finished with seven points, seven assists and five rebounds before fouling out in 37 minutes played.
Bryce, the former UNC Wilmington transfer, enters the contest averaging 12.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and shooting 39.4 percent on three-pointers. He had 15 points in the 113-96 loss to at North Carolina on Tuesday. He had nine points and five rebounds in the first meeting against the Panthers.
——
• Talk about it inside The State of Basketball
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker
• Like us on Facebook
