NC State basketball quick hits from win over Campbell
Here are quick hits and notes from the NC State basketball 73-67 home win over Campbell. The game was played in front of a crowd of 12,977 fans at PNC Arena in Raleigh on Friday evening.
Play Of The Game
With NC State basketball clinging to a two-point lead and less than 40 seconds left, super senior guard Jarkel Joiner delivers.
Highlight Of The Game
NC State Basketball Player Of The Game
As Matt Coe noted in his premium observations, this game was a tale of two halves in terms of backcourt production. Sophomore Terquavion Smith, playing on a twisted ankle, stood out in the first half and finished with a game-high 19 points. In the process, he made 4 threes to become the fastest to reach 100 career three-pointers in NC State history.
However, the choice for player of the game is Smith’s backcourt mate Joiner, who had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and no turnovers in 36 minutes. Most crucially, Joiner made several important baskets down the stretch.
He did a good job following up his own missed shot to put the Pack up 67-62 with 2:44 left. Then twice after Campbell cut the lead down to 2 points, Joiner responded with buckets. The first was a step-back shot on the baseline with 1:20 left, and the latter a jumper with 32.2 seconds left that finally broke the Camels’ back.
Surviving The Hot Shooting
Campbell connected on the first six three-pointers tried Friday and finished the game making 10 of 18 from long range.
A year ago, NC State went 2-6 in games during which the opposing team made double-digit three-pointers. The wins were against Patriot League champ Colgate and ACC rival Virginia. The latter was one of four games in which the opponent not only made double-digit threes but also shot better than 50 percent from long range, like Campbell did Friday. In those four games a season ago, NC State was 1-3.
How did NC State hold Campbell to just 67 points despite the long-range successes of the Camels, especially when adding to that the fact that other than Smith’s four three-pointers the Pack did not have another trey?
Luck at the line may have helped. Campbell made just 7 of 18 free throw attempts. NC State was not great either, but the Pack made 21 of 32 to outscore the Camels by 14 at the line
However, NC State also dominated inside the arc. The Pack held Campbell to just 15 of 35 shooting on twos, while NC State was 20 of 32 in that territory.
Could Not Put Campbell Away
NC State took the lead for good when Smith had a breakaway dunk with 3:51 left to put the Pack up 33-32 with 3:51 to go.
Yet despite leading for the final 23:51 of the game, NC State never led by double digits in the contest. The largest advantage was 9 points, done twice in the second half at 55-46 and 57-48. After the latter, Campbell went on an 8-1 run.
Conversely, Campbell might feel like they could not get over the hump against NC State. Seven times in the second half the Camels cut the Wolfpack lead down to one possession, yet Campbell never tied or took a lead.
Spotted At The Game
Many NC State basketball fans have been wondering about Mady Traoré, a 6-foot-11 native of France who committed to the Wolfpack in July as a late addition in the 2023 class. Traoré has yet to be officially announced by the program and is not with the team to start the year.
However, Traoré was seen at PNC Arena last night. He is expected to join the team after the fall semester ends, although odds would suggest that a redshirt may be in his immediate future.
Also spotted was redshirt junior forward Greg Gantt in uniform, although Gantt did not play.
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:
Sophomore guard Breon Pass: +11 (12:02 minuted played)
Fifth-year senior post D.J. Burns Jr.: +8 (17:50)
Fifth-year senior forward Jack Clark: +7 (31:52)
Smith: +6 (40:00)
Joiner: +2 (36:52)
Junior center Ebenezer Dowuona: +2 (2:58)
Senior guard Casey Morsell: +1 (31:09)
Sophomore forward Ernest Ross: -1 (8:38)
Fifth-year senior forward Dusan Mahorcic: -6 (19:09)
NC State Basketball Game Scores
Using Hollinger’s measure of productivity, players are graded 1-40 with 10 being average for an NBA player.
Smith: 15.9
Joiner: 15.2
Clark: 14.3
Burns: 2.9
Morsell: 4.2
Mahorcic: 3.9
Ross: -0.3
Dowuona: 1.6
Dowuona: 1.0
Pass: 1.6
What This NC State Basketball Win Means
The Pack is 2-0 while Campbell falls to 1-1.
NC State basketball is 12-1 all-time against the Camels.
The game was broadcast online by ACC Network Extra. Throughout the year, we’ll keep track of the Pack’s record on the different channels:
• ACC Network Extra: 2-0
We also track NC State’s records by month:
• November: 2-0
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 15-13, but both teams had 18 points off turnovers.
- The Pack had a 17-8 edge in fast break points.
- The Wolfpack had a 34-26 advantage in points in the paint.
- NC State won on the boards, 33-31 overall, but Campbell had a slight 8-7 advantage on the offensive glass. The Pack had a 8-7 win in second-chance points for the Pack.
- The Camels’ bench outscored NC State’s reserves, 21-10.
- Defensively, NC State had four blocks, one altered shot and 11 steals. Campbell rejected one shot, altered four and stole the ball seven times.
- NC State led for 29:20 while Campbell had the edge for 8:32. The Pack’s largest lead was nine points and Camels was three.
