NC State basketball quick hits from win over FIU

Here are quick hits and notes from the NC State basketball 107-74 home win over Florida International. The game was played in front of a crowd of 5,034 fans at PNC Arena in Raleigh on Tuesday evening Nov. 15.

Play Of The Game

NC State took control with an 18-2 run in the first half, turning a 9-6 lead into a 27-8 advantage. During that run came highlight moments for a couple of reserves for the Pack.

First, sophomore forward Ernest Ross had a big rejection on one side of the floor. Then came a fast break opportunity that sophomore guard Breon Pass turned into a three-point play after finishing through the contact.

Highlight Of The Game

In the second half, senior forward Jack Clark played good defense on a short shot in the lane and then tapped the rebound out to classmate post player Dusan Mahorcic. After taking a dribble, Mahorcic fired a pass to sophomore guard Terquavion Smith, who had a 2-on-1 with senior guard Casey Morsell.

Smith faked out the defender, getting him in the air, and then dropped off a pass to Morsell for the two-handed dunk to give NC State a 70-40 lead with 11:40 left.

NC State Basketball Player Of The Game

Senior guard Jarkel Joiner had a strong case (more on him later), but the edge goes to Morsell.

Only once in Morsell’s career had he scored at least 20 points in a game, and he had never made more than 3 treys in a game. Against FIU, Morsell went off.

He made 10 of 13 shots from the field, and doubled his career-high for made three-pointers by making 6 of 7 beyond the arc. He set a new career-high with 26 points and added 6 rebounds and 3 steals.

The 10 made field goals was also a new personal best, topping the 7 he made against Arizona State when he was a freshman at Virginia.

Joiner’s Big Night (And Start)

Morsell was joined with 26 points on the evening by Joiner, who made 9 of 15 shots from the field, including 6 of 8 three-pointers.

Although that was not near Joiner’s career-high of 33 points he set against Alabama last season while playing for Ole Miss, the 6 three-pointers did match his personal best that was also set in that contest against the Crimson Tide. However, Joiner needed 10 attempts beyond the arc to get there against Alabama versus the 8 he tried Tuesday evening.

Joiner also finished with 5 assists and 3 steals without having a turnover.

There may not be a player in the ACC off to a better start than Joiner. His season averages through 3 games are 20.3 points, 5.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and just 1.2 turnovers per game.

Frenetic Pace

There were times in Tuesday’s game where the teams traded multiple baskets simply beating the other squad down the floor. Overall, NC State attempted 76 shots, which is more than any contest in regulation for the Wolfpack since trying 79 vs. Bryant on Nov. 14, 2017.

FIU was only able to get 59 shots, but that’s because NC State finished with 17 steals in the contest, the second most in a single game under Keatts. Smith was responsible for 6 steals, most by a player in Keatts’ 6 years in Raleigh.

Smith struggled with his shot, making just 1 of 8 threes, but he tied his career high with 6 assists to go with his defense.

Spotted At The Game

Yes, redshirt junior forward Greg Gantt does play for NC State basketball. Gantt officially made his Wolfpack debut since transferring from Providence after the 2020-21 season. He played 11:32 and had 3 rebounds and 1 assist.

More noteworthy though may have been the performance of freshman guard LJ Thomas, who did not get on the floor in the close call vs. Campbell last Friday. Thomas made 5 of 7 shots, including both of his three-pointers, to finish with 12 points.

Although the crowd was light, former players Scott Wood and Ralston Turner were both seen in attendance. As was NC State football quarterback Devin Leary, who is doing an internship at PNC Arena.

NC State Basketball Plus/Minus

Here is the plus/minus for each player (the difference between points scored while they were on the floor) for NC State basketball:

Joiner: +31 (27:35 minutes played)

Pass: +26 (20:14)

Gantt: +26 (11:32)

Mahorcic: +23 (21:00)

Morsell: +22 (27:01)

Smith: +19 (22:51)

Fifth-year senior post D.J. Burns Jr.: +16 (15:36)

Thomas: +10 (12:00)

Sophomore forward Ernest Ross: +9 (18:20)

Clark: +7 (11:24)

Junior center Ebenezer Dowuona: -6 (3:24)

Senior guard Chase Graham: -6 (3:01)

Sophomore guard Alex Nunnally: -6 (3:01)

Freshman guard Jordan Snell: -6 (3:01)

NC State Basketball Game Scores

Using Hollinger’s measure of productivity, players are graded 1-40 with 10 being average for an NBA player.

Joiner: 25.8

Morsell: 25.1

Mahorcic: 14.3

Smith: 13.2

Thomas: 12.1

Pass: 5.0

Ross: 4.5

Snell: 0.0

Dowuona: -0.4

Graham: -0.4

Clark: -0.5

Nunnally: -0.7

Burns: -0.8

What This NC State Basketball Win Means

The Pack is 3-0 while FIU fell to 2-1.

NC State basketball is 4-0 all-time against the Panthers, and the Wolfpack is 39-2 all-time in non-conference home games under Keatts.

The Pack is 23-6 all-time vs. Conference USA squads.

The game was broadcast by RSN. Throughout the year, we’ll keep track of the Pack’s record on the different channels:

• ACC Network Extra: 2-0

• RSN: 1-0

We also track NC State’s records by month:

• November: 3-0

Here are NC State’s records in the month of November previously under Keatts:

• 2017: 6-2

• 2018: 6-1

• 2019: 5-2

• 2020: 2-0

• 2021: 5-1

Other stats of note

• NC State won the turnover margin 22-13, and that led to a 26-13 edge in points off turnovers.
• The Pack had a 34-16 edge in fast break points.
• The Panthers had a 46-44 advantage in points in the paint.
• NC State won on the boards, 40-29 overall and 14-6 on the offensive glass. The Pack had a 19-4 win in second-chance points.
• The FIU bench outscored NC State’s reserves, 38-26.
• Defensively, NC State had 4 blocks, 3 altered shots and 17 steals. FIU rejected 3 shots, altered 4 and stole the ball 9 times.
• NC State led for 38:08 while FIU had the edge for 0:38. The Pack’s largest lead was 39 points.