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NC State Ranks 61st in 2024 KenPom Preseason Rankings – Pack Insider
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KenPom has released their 2024 Preseason College Basketball rankings, and NC State ranks 61st. They are ranked 6th in the ACC in the rankings.
(KP)
KenPom 2024 Preseason ACC Rankings
9. Duke
17. UNC
33. UVA
45. Miami
51. Clemson
61. NC State
62. Pitt
65. Virginia Tech
73. Wake Forest
88. FSU
105. Syracuse
109. Louisville
118. Georgia Tech
128. Boston College
165. Notre Dame
Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.
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It was a historic day in Reynolds Coliseum as the NC State Women’s Basketball team defeated the #2 UCONN Huskies 92-81, improving to 2-0 to start the year.
The Wolfpack were led by a career performance from Junior Guard Saniya Rivers, who recorded a double-double of 33 points and 10 rebounds, which led NC State in both categories. She also led the Wolfpack in assists (5), blocks (3) and steals (3). Rivers shot 11 of 19 from the field. Rivers is the first person to post 30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists against UCONN in the last 25 years. Absolute insanity.
Junior Guard Aziaha James chipped in 18 points, and Freshman Guard Zoe Brooks had 12 off the bench.
The Wolfpack’s backcourt was bonkers.
NC State had lost 6 straight to UCONN prior to today, defeating the Huskies back in 1998 in the Elite Eight.
A post shared by NC State Women’s Basketball (@packwomensbball)
A post shared by NC State Women’s Basketball (@packwomensbball)
A post shared by NC State Women’s Basketball (@packwomensbball)
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I think we all know where Terquavion Smith’s journey ends.
Eventually, this kid is going to have some role in the NBA. But he’s going to have to show his worth in the G-League and Friday night was the beginning of him doing that.
Smith came off the bench for the Delaware Blue Coats and immediately went to work. When the dust settled, Smith had 37 points and 8 rebounds. However, Smith wasn’t super efficient in getting there. He was 11-33 in this one and 5-13 from 3-point range, almost matching his college averages.
That said, he is currently tied for the lead in G-League in scoring after game 1.
Check out the highlights above.
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A few years ago, no one would have batted an eye at Abilene Christian coming to Raleigh to take on the Wolfpack in an early-season duel.
But anyone paying attention recently knew that the Abilene Christian matchup could be dangerous.
The Wildcats had made national news in 2021 when, as a #14 seed, they upset #3 Texas in the NCAA Tournament. And just this past week they upset Oklahoma State on their home court, 64-59.
None of that mattered to NC State, who handled their business on Friday night 84-64.
Here is our take:
– As I said last time, NC State’s defense is going to be the best we’ve seen under Keatts. Jayden Taylor is an absolute ball hawk, DJ Horne is feisty, Morsell is and elite and physical defender, and you have a 6’10, long and agile guy at the 4 in Diarra. Abilene Christian struggled to get anything going offensively. They shot just 35% and 29% from 3 and not a single player reached double figures for them.
– Jayden Taylor is really good. I guess I’ll continue hyping up Taylor. He deserves it. The kid is not just our best on-ball defender, he’s also very athletic, very slippery, and has a great shot. When he gets in his comfort zone, State fans are going to love him. Last night he was extremely aggressive and Abeline Christian had no answer. He was just too quick, too shifty and got to the basket at will in the first half (drawing fouls most of the time. But in the 2nd half, he found his stroke and started dropping 3s. Taylor finished with a game-high 22 points on 5-12 shooting and 3-4 from long range. On paper you’re going to wonder why I’m so excited about a 5-12 shooting performance, but watch the game and you’ll see. All of his misses were early in the game, and most were chip shots he won’t miss on a normal basis. He took good, smart shots, attacked the hoop with aggression, and played a real nice style of basketball. If he’s going to be this team’s top scorer, then fans are going to love his style. Very team-oriented, hard worker, but still gets buckets when needed.
– Diarra almost had a quiet double-double. I re-watched the game to see how I missed Diarra’s 9 points and 11 rebounds, and when I finished watching the 2nd time, I realized why. It wasn’t flashy, he didn’t score in spurts, he didn’t even take a 3. He just played his role and let his 6’10 frame do it’s work. It will be interesting to see how Diarra fares against bigger teams and if this type of performance is something he can continue to replicate, but as of now, he’s really filling that 4 spot better than anyone Keatts has had. He’s rebounding at a double-digit rate, and he’s providing a shot-blocking presence in the paint.
– Nice, efficient game from DJ Horne. I guess I was worried when we got Horne that he would play like Joiner or Smith. Not that I had anything against those guys. They were awesome. But, I know that if NC State is ever going to go anywhere, they need to learn to play team basketball and get away from this 1 on 1, isolation stuff we’ve seen during the Keatts era. Horne has been a pleasant surprise, because, while he can create off the dribble, he’s definitely a guy who plays within the offense and looks to pass when nothing is there. That’s the takeaway with Horne, for me. He had a really efficient 15 points on 6-11 shooting and 2-5 from 3. And that is great, but we know this guys is going to be a high-end scorer. What we didn’t know is how well he’d fit within the team framework, and we’re finding out that he’s going to fit just right.
–Morsell bounced back with 16 points. Casey still hasn’t found his shot (he was 1-4 from 3pt range), but it’ll come. He’s a little excited, the shot is a little flat, and I’m sure that’ll be corrected as we get a few more games under our belt. He’s continued to be a physical presence, a great defender, and he’s been attacking more off the dribble, which, with his frame, puts a lot of pressure on the defense.
– DJ Burns did his thing again. I could just copy and paste my Burns take every game. He’s one of the best offensive bigs in the nation. He’s definitely a Top 1 or 2 guy in the ACC, and he showed it again. State didn’t need him to dominate, as Abeline Christian kept sending double-teams to stop him. It didn’t matter, he still had 12 points, 7 boards and 4 assists.
– Quiet night from the bench. O’Connell wasn’t as effective against the smaller, faster Abeline Christian guards as we mentioned might happen after the Citadel game. Middlebrooks played pretty well, adding 5 points and 4 boards in 15 minutes. And Dennis Parker Jr. never really got going, playing 14 minutes but only scoring 1 point and grabbing 2 boards. Parker is going to be a factor, but he’s still feeling out his role on this team, which is expected for a freshman.
– State moves to 2-0, gets a week off, and comes back next Friday against Charleston Southern.
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NC State improved to 2-0 tonight, defeating Abilene Christian 84-64 at home. Check out the Box Score below.
Notes
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