NC State plays its first high major opponent of the young season, plus the first battle not at the friendly confines of PNC Arena.

NC State (3-0) plays Vanderbilt (3-1) at 10 p.m. Thursday in Las Vegas, Nev., on ESPN2. The Wolfpack defeated the Commodores 70-66 on Dec. 18, 2022, in front of 5,578 fans in Chicago, Ill.

Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse, who is from Kinston, N.C., and played at North Carolina, also hasn't played a high major opponent this season. The winner plays the winner of Arizona State and Brigham Young at 10 p.m. Friday.

Vanderbilt has a blend of youth and experience in the starting lineup.

The Commodores went 22-15 overall and 11-7 in the SEC last. year, and made a run to the NIT quarterfinals. Vanderbilt lost center Quentin Millora-Brown, who NC State played against at The Citadel, along with forward Jordan Wright (LSU), Myles Stute (South Carolina) and Malik Dia (Belmont).

Vanderbilt’s depth has gotten tested with starters such as Notre Dame sophomore post player transfer Ven-Allen Lubin and senior wing Tyrin Lawrence both out with injuries. Lawrence averaged 13.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last year, and Lubin averaged 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds a contest for the Fighting Irish. Reserve sophomore center Lee Dort also hasn’t played a game yet this season.

Rankings

Vanderbilt was No. 81 in the NET rankings, and NC State was No. 43 last year.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Commodores ranked No. 122 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 52.

KenPom.com has Vanderbilt at No. 138, and NCSU checks in at No. 52 this season.

RealtimeRPI.com has Vanderbilt was ranked No. 132 in the country, and NC State is No. 82.

Shooting

Vanderbilt is averaging 71.3 points per game, and shooting 40.6 percent from the field, 31.6 percent on three-pointers and 74.4 percent on free throws.

Senior post player Tasos Kamateros has gone 8 of 16 from three-point land this season, and senior wing Evan Taylor has gone 9 of 26 from beyond the arc for 34.6 percent.

Rebounding

Vanderbilt is averaging 39.5 rebounds per game with a 9.3 rebounding margin. The Commodores have grabbed 53 offensive rebounds in four contests (13.25 per contest).

Sophomore power forward Colin Smith leads the way with 9.5 rebounds per game, including 15 offensive rebounds in four games, and freshman center Carter Lang is chipping in with 6.3 rebounds a contest. Lang played with NC State freshman forward Dennis Parker on Team Loaded VA.

Defense

The Commodores are allowing 69.0 points per game, and opposing teams are shooting 45.9 percent from the field, 37.8 percent on three-pointers and 66.7 percent from the line.

Vandy doesn’t really have a shot-blocker, with the team leader getting two, and senior point guard Ezra Manjon has seven steals.

Depth

Kamateros is the top option off the bench, and he’s averaging 9.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game. Sophomore guard Paul Lewis, freshman guards Jason Rivera-Torres and Malik Presley and freshman post player JaQualon Roberts are all part of the rotation.

Rivera-Torres, who played with NC State’s Dennis Parker at Richmond (Va.) John Marshall High, along with Presley and Roberts were all three-star prospects by Rivals.com.

The 6-0, 170-pound Ezra Manjon could be the rare player to average in double figures all five years of his college career.

Manjon started his college career at University of California-Davis his first three years, and he averaged 15.6 points per game his sophomore year and 15.0 points a contest his junior campaign.

Manjon then transferred to Vanderbilt and chipped in 10.5 points and 3.8 assists per game last year, while shooting 25 percent from three-point land.

Through four games, Manjon has scored at least 16 points this season with a high of 24 points, with six rebounds and four assists in a 74-70 victory over North Carolina-Greensboro on Nov. 14. Manjon has made four of 10 on three-pointers this season and he’s been good at getting to the free-throw line, going 31 of 34 at the charity stripe through four contests.

Manjon was named to the SEC All-Tournament team last year, after scoring a combined 58 points against LSU, Kentucky and Texas A&M. He followed up with 50 points in the three NIT contests. Manjon had 24 points in a regular season overtime win over South Carolina on Jan. 3, 2023.

NC State

PG — 0 DJ Horne (6-1, 175, R-Sr., 13.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.7 spg)

SG — 1 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Jr., 13.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 spg)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Sr., 11.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.7 apg)

PF — 23 Mohamed Diarra (6-10, 215, Jr., 8.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 1.3 bpg)

C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Sr., 14.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 apg)

Vanderbilt

PG — 5 Ezra Manjon (6-0, 170, Sr., 18.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.8 spg)

SG — 4 Isaiah West (6-2, 190, Fr., 6.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.8 apg)

SF — 12 Evan Taylor (6-6, 205, Sr., 10.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 1.0 spg)

PF — 1 Colin Smith (6-8, 215, Soph., 9.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 0.5 apg)

C — 35 Carter Lang (6-9, 235, Fr., 3.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.8 apg)

15 NCAA Tournament appearances, starting in 1965 with its highest finish, an Elite Eight spot. The last trip to the Big Dance came in 2017.

332 Career wins at Vanderbilt for former coach Kevin Stallings, who was there from 1999-to-2016 before departing for a difficult two-year run at Pittsburgh. Stallings reached the NCAA Tournament seven times and the NIT five times, with two Sweet 16 appearances (2004 and 2007).

16,409 Points Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse scored in the NBA from 1995-to-2013. He had a career-high 2,380 points (29.8 points per game) for the Detroit Pistons in 2000-01, which was one of his two years making the NBA All-Star team.

Vanderbilt senior wing Evan Taylor is a gifted three-point shooter, who is in his fifth year of college.

The 6-6, 205-pounder played his first four years at Lehigh, and he averaging 14.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last year. He shot 42.5 percent from the field and 43.0 percent on three-pointers. He is a career 40.3 percent shooter from beyond the arc.

Taylor transferred to Vanderbilt this year and has become the Commodores second-leading scorer in light of the various injuries. He had 14 points and three three-pointers against Central Arkansas and added 12 points and five rebounds in the loss to North Carolina-Greensboro.

While at Lehigh, he had 20-plus points in six games, including a season-high 26 points and four three-pointers in a 78-73 win over Navy on Jan. 8, 2023. He also had two double-doubles for points and rebounds, and poured in 20 points and went 4 of 5 against the zone defense of Syracuse on Nov. 7, 2022. He had 18 points in a 78-56 loss at Wisconsin on Dec. 15, but Virginia Tech limited him to four points Nov. 10.

Taylor attended Glenbard West High in Glen Ellyn, Ill., and was a second-team All-Patriot League player his senior year at Lehigh.

Taylor will get matched up against NC State senior wing Casey Morsell, who is averaging 11.7 points per game and shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range. The 6-3, 200-pound Virginia transfer had 16 points in the 84-64 win over Abilene Christian.

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