Wolfpack Hoping to Not "Turnover" Against FSU

FLORIDA STATE vs. NC STATE

GAME TIME: 7pm
LOCATION: Raleigh, NC
TV: ESPNU

The Pack, sitting at 9-4, and 0-1 in the ACC are desperately in need of confidence building victory against a very underrated Florida State team. State played has played 4 quality opponents and has fallen to all 4, but in every game State held their own, staying neck and neck with some big name foes. This shows us here at Wolfpack Hoops that we are not dealing with a bad team, but a team that simply does not believe in itself yet. A big win can change all that and when the Wolfpack take the floor tonight in Raleigh they will have a chance to get such a win.

Please wipe out all of your preconceived notions that Florida State is cupcake opponent. This FSU team is quick and feisty. They beat Florida by 2. They took the now #1 team in the nation, Pitt down to the wire and narrowly lost. They also were in a dog fight with #2 Duke before falling 66-58. Now, remember it is Florida State, so there must've been a slip-up somewhere, right? Well, yes. They took a loss to Big Ten bottom dweller Northwestern University 73-59, but this FSU team is not the type of team to take lightly.

So what does this say about Florida State? They can be good, very good...but they can also be beaten. NC State will need to stop senior guard Toney Douglas. Douglas is a scoring guard who always has the green light. He likes to run on O, and he creates havoc on D as evident by his 2 steals per game. While FSU likes to run and gun, they also turn the ball over quite a bit, which NC State knows all about. If the Pack can win the turnover battle and take care of business on the boards, as they should against a team with an inferior frontcourt, State should be ok.

The Pack is going to need to hold down Douglas, and holding down a scoring guard is something that State does not do very well as evident by the shred fest but upon us Steph Curry, Nick Calathes, and Jerel McNeal. Another key, and probably the most important piece to the puzzle is limiting turnovers. Coach Lowe is going to need to find a guard who is going to cherish the ball and show a little intestinal fortitude. At this point it looks like Julius Mays is that guy, but the speed of Degand will keep him on the floor as well. Javi seems to be loosing footing on the backup point guard role after careless and mind boggling turnovers in the backcourt.

Again, if the Pack is going to be successful they are going to need to exploit Florida State in the paint which means McCauley, Costner, and Smith are going to need to forget about the block party put on by the Clemson Tiger frontcourt, and start attacking the rim with a hard dose of authority and intensity.


RECORD
NC STATE- 9-4
FSU- 13-3

LEADING SCORER
NC STATE- Brandon Costner (14.4)
FSU- Toney Douglas (18.4)

LEADING REBOUNDER
NC STATE- Ben McCauley (8.0)
FSU- Chris Singleton (6.3)

ASSIST LEADER
NC STATE- Javi Gonzalez (3.1)
FSU- Toney Douglas (2.6)

TEAM FG%
NC STATE- 46.7%
FSU- 42.3%

TEAM REBOUNDING
NC STATE- 38.8
FSU- 37.5