Published Dec 2, 2020
Scouting UMass Lowell
Justin H. Williams  •  TheWolfpackCentral
Staff Writer
Twitter
@JustinHWill

NC State Wolfpack basketball started its 2020-21 season with two wins last week.

The Pack defeated Charleston Southern 95-61 and beat North Florida 86-51 in the Mako Medical Wolfpack Invitational in Reynolds Coliseum.

NC State was scheduled to play game three against William & Mary in Reynolds Coliseum on Monday, but the game was canceled due to at least one positive test on the Tribe.

The Wolfpack found a replacement game in less than two days and will now play UMass Lowell on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2 in Bubbleville, the new nickname of the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT.

Here is the scouting report on UMass Lowell:

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Season Overview

UMass Lowell is 1-2 this season under eighth-year head coach Pat Duquette.

The River Hawks defeated San Francisco 76-68 in the season opener. This is notable because SFU went on to defeat preseason ACC favorite Virginia 61-60 two days later.

UML then suffered two 10-point losses, the first to Illinois State and the second to No. 23 Ohio State.

UMass Lowell finished the 2019-20 season tied for sixth place in the America East Conference with a 13-19 overall record. The River Hawks were picked to finish seventh in the conference this year in the preseason America East media poll.

Rankings

UMass Lowell finished the 2019-20 season ranked No. 257 in the NET rankings, which would be considered a quad four game.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the River Hawks ranked No. 195, and KenPom.com has UML ranked No. 211.

UMass Lowell is ranked No. 194 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Shooting

UMass Lowell has shot 43.6 percent from the field through its first three games of the season. The River Hawks have also shot 32.3 percent on three-point attempts, which ranks 38th in the country, and 67.1 percent from the foul line.

Forward Allin Blunt, UML's third-leading scorer this season, has shot a team-high 55.6 percent from the perimeter.

Rebounding 

The River Hawks average 35.7 rebounds per contest this season and have allowed opponents to an average of 36.0 rebounds per game.

UML has averaged 27.3 defensive rebounds per game and 8.3 offensive rebounds per game. The River Hawks have allowed opponents to an average of 11.3 offensive board per game, which ranks 180th among Division I teams.

Defense 

UMass Lowell has allowed opponents to an average of 74.7 points per contest. Its opponents have shot 41.5 percent from the field.

UML has been effective at preventing teams to get hot from the perimeter, however. The River Hawks rank 38th in the country with a 23.9 defensive three-point field goal percentage.

Depth

UMass Lowell has played a nine-man rotation thus far in the 2020-21 season with each player playing in every game with an average of at least 11 minutes per contest.

The River Hawks have four players that have averaged over 30 minutes per game.

Player to Watch

UMass Lowell has received most of its scoring production from star senior guard Obidiah Noel.

The 6-4, 190-pounder has averaged 24.0 points per game, which ranks tied for 19th among Division I players.

He also leads the team in minutes per game (37.0), rebounds per game (6.7) and assists per contest (3.7).

Noel was a first-team All-America East Conference selection last season and was picked to repeat first-team honors in this year's preseason media poll.

Likely Starters 

NC State

PG — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Sr., 10.5 ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.5 spg)

SG — 5 Thomas Allen (6-1, 180, Sr., 5.5 ppg, 0.0 apg, 1.5 spg)

G — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, 5th-Sr., 18.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.5 apg)

PF — 0 D.J. Funderburk (6-10, 225, 5th-Sr., 10.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.0 bpg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-So., 7.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 bpg)

UMass Lowell

G – 11 Obidiah Noel (6-4, 190, Sr., 24.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.7 apg)

G – 0 Ron Mitchell (6-3, 170, So. 1.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.3 apg)

F – 5 Connor Withers (6-7, 195, So., 10.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.0 apg)

F – 15 Allin Blunt (6-7, 205, Jr., 8.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.3 apg)

F – 23 Salif Boudie (6-8, 215, Sr., 3.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg)

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