Rider is 4-8 overall and 0-2 in the MAAC, with most of the games this season on the road.
The Broncs have had nine road games, from a California trip to open the season, and now played Pennsylvania on Friday, falling 79-66, and at NC State at 4 p.m. today on the ACC Network.
Rider has played high major opponents such as UCLA, Iowa and Villanova. The Broncs and Wolfpack both played Coppin State this season. Rider won 64-53 on Nov. 9.
Overview
Rider returned two starters from last year’s 15-17 squad (12-8 in MAAC), with former Wake Forest post player Tariq Ingraham and ex-UMass wing T.J. Weeks Jr.
Junior college transfer Zion Cruz, who previously played at DePaul, Houston Christian wing Jay Alvarez and sophomore point guard Ruben Rodriguez round out the starting lineup. Rodriguez came off the bench at Rider last year.
Rankings
Rider is No. 322 in the NET rankings this season, and NC State is No. 115.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Broncs ranked No. 302 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 61.
KenPom.com has Rider at No. 313, and NCSU checks in at No. 83.
Shooting
Rider is averaging 63.7 points per game, and is shooting 41.7 percent from the field, 28.4 percent on three-pointers and 65.7 percent at the free-throw line.
Weeks and Alvarez are the two main three-point shooters on the squad. Weeks is 22-of-66 for 33.3 percent and Alvarez is 22-of-55 for 40 percent.
Rebounding
The Broncs are averaging 35.1 rebounds per game and have a zero rebounding margin.
Ingraham leads the team with 36 offensive rebounds and with 6.7 rebounds per game. Weeks is second with 4.7 boards a contest.
Defense
Rider is allowing 72.1 points per game, and opponents are shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 35.6 percent on three-pointers.
Ingraham leads the team with nine blocks and Weeks has a team-high 14 steals.
Depth
Freshman guard Flash Burton and sophomore forward Ife West-Ingram are key cogs off the bench. Burton is averaging 7.7 points per game in 20.4 minutes of action, and West-Ingram is chipping in 5.2 points and 3.7 rebounds a game.
Junior point guard Andre Young, senior post player Tank Byard and freshman post player Cole McCabe chip in off the bench.
Star Watch
Senior wing T.J. Weeks Jr. played four years at UMass — just 25 games his first two years — and now in his second campaign at Rider.
The Warwick, R.I., native is the son of Tyrone Weeks Sr., who was a standout player at UMass. Weeks’ younger brother, Tyriek Weeks, comes of the bench for the Broncs.
Weeks is a career 35.7 percent three-point shooter — going 228-of-638 from beyond the arc — in 128 games (99 starts).
Weeks is averaging 13.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on three-pointers this season. He’s scored in double figures in all but two games, and had a season-high 21 points and four three-pointers in a 78-75 loss at Fairfield on Dec. 4. He also opened the season with 15 points and went 4 of 7 on three-pointers in a 85-50 loss at UCLA on Nov. 4.
Week’s had a season-high 20 points and went 6 of 11 on three-pointer’s, plus seven boards last year in a 79-76 overtime win Jan. 7, 2024. His career came Feb. 5, 2022, for UMass in a 78-67 win over Rhode Island. He scored 30 points and went 6 of 9 on three-pointers.
Likely starters
NC State
PG — 12 Michael O’Connell (6-2, 195, Sr., 6.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.4 spg)
SG — 8 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Sr., 12.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 spg)
G — 10 Marcus Hill (6-4, 185, Sr., 12.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.7 apg)
F — 3 Dontrez Styles (6-6, 212, Sr., 10.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.5 apg, 1.1 bpg)
C — 34 Ben Middlebrooks (6-10, 240, Sr., 9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.5 bpg)
Rider
PG — 2 Ruben Rodriguez (6-2, 175, Soph., 2.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.5 apg)
SG — 35 T.J. Weeks Jr. (6-4, 190, Sr., 13.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.3 spg)
G — 0 Zion Cruz (6-5, 195, Jr., 7.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.9 apg)
F — 5 Jay Alvarez (6-5, 210, Sr., 10.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 apg)
C — 33 Tariq Ingraham (6-9, 255, Sr., 10.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.0 apg)
Numbers Of Note
1 NBA first-round picks from Rider, with center Jason Thompson getting drafted in 2008. Thompson had 24 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks in a 72-63 loss against NC State on Nov. 22, 2007, in Orlando, Fla., for the Old Spice Classic, which the Wolfpack eventually won.
2 Seasons where Rider has won at least 20 games under coach Kevin Baggett, who has been the coach since the 2012-13 season.
3 NCAA Tournament appearances at the Division I level — 1984, 1993 and 1994.
Game within the game: Rider's Zion Cruz vs. NC State's Marcus Hill
Rider junior shooting guard Zion Cruz has been on a roller-coaster ride.
Cruz was a middle school prodigy in middle school and he bounced around in high school from school-to-school. He was at The Patrick School and Hudson Catholic in New Jersey, had an abbreviated stint at Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy and finished up at Kanye West now defunct school, Donda Academy in Simi Valley, Calif.
The movement started to affect his game and academics, and he plunged to No. 70 in the Rivals.com rankings in the class of 2022. He signed with DePaul and he struggled, averaging 2.4 points per game in 2022-23.
Cruz went to Pratt (Kan.) Community College and averaged 14.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game last year. He transferred back home to Rider and he is averaging 7.6 points and 2.7 rebounds a contest. The 6-5, 195-pounder is coming off his best game with 16 points, seven rebounds and two three-pointers in a 79-66 loss at Pennsylvania on Friday.
Cruz will likely get matched up against Marcus Hill of NC State, who is averaging 12.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game this season. Hill is shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 28.6 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
Follow on Instagram/Threads/Blue Sky:
www.instagram.com/thewolfpackcentral
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!
Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE
