NC State basketball opens with a win. Three takeaways from Pack’s victory over The Citadel
The PNC arena crowd noise hit a fever pitch with 53 seconds remaining as The Citadel’s Colby McAllister shot two free throws.
He missed. It got louder.
One game, one win. N.C. State picked up its first win of the season Monday, defeating the Bulldogs, 72-59, while looking improved from its exhibition match against Mount Olive.
Here are three takeaways from the 2023-24 opener:
DJ Burns is back
Head coach Kevin Keatts talked in the offseason of DJ Burns’ importance to the team when he can stay out of foul trouble. After an effective outing in the exhibition, the grad student proved his importance once again.
Burns scored the team’s first six points of the season and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in the first half.
It wasn’t just his scoring, though. Simply having his size and presence in the paint assisted significantly as Bulldogs players struggled to shoot over him.
Burns finished with three fouls — two of which came early in the second half — and had to sit. The big man kept composure down the stretch, though, and ended up playing 27 minutes.
He finished with a team-high 16 points on 8-11 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. Junior Mohamed Diarra finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds in his first appearance for the Wolfpack.
3-point shooting needs consistency
To put it bluntly: The Pack’s 3-point shooting wasn’t good, especially early on.
The team went 4-of-14 in the first half. Grad transfer Michael O’Connell made 3 of 4, and everyone else was just 1-for-10. O’Connell finished 4-for-5.
Diarra and junior Jayden Taylor were the next most consistent on 3s, combining for four. When O’Connell wasn’t the one shooting from beyond the arc, he finished with a trio of assists.
N.C. State figured things out a little bit in the second half, but aside from those three players, the consistency just wasn’t there.
Grad student DJ Horne went just 1-for-7 from deep, and Casey Morsell was 1-for-4.
The most frustrating part wasn’t that they were bad shots. The Pack kept hitting iron but couldn’t get the shots to fall. Air balls aren’t good, but every time someone squared up from the arc, it felt like that line, “So, you’re saying there’s a chance?” The Pack will need to be more efficient for long-term success.
Wolfpack defensive effort
In the past five seasons, N.C. State’s scoring defense has been a concern.
It has never ranked above No. 6 in the ACC, nor above No. 150 in the nation. Its best season in that stretch came during the 2020-21 year, with the team holding opponents to an average of 69.7 points per game. The worst season came in 2021-22, when the Wolfpack allowed opponents to score 75.6 points per game — ranking No. 314 out of 350 teams.
N.C. State might have the pieces for success this year.
The Wolfpack picked up three straight stops with 13 minutes left in the first half, including a shot clock violation. It recorded two steals and scored on the subsequent fast break possessions about four minutes later.
The Citadel started the second half with an early turnover and a steal from Burns. N.C. State finished with nine steals.
Add in five blocks, including three from Diarra, and the Pack had a winning effort.
This story was originally published November 6, 2023 at 9:14 PM with the headline "NC State basketball opens with a win. Three takeaways from Pack’s victory over The Citadel."
