Today’s matchup against Cincy is WVU part Deux with a few differences:
1. Cincinnati’s Offense is prone to turning the ball over.
2. Cincinnati’s Defense is much better at keeping their opponents to low fg% inside the arc than WVU.
3. Cincinnati’s Defense is decent at forcing TO’s but nothing like WVU.
4. Cincinnati’s Defense is good about not sending their opponents to the FT line often unlike WVU who does it constantly.
While Cincinnati plays tough defense they aren’t stupid about senseless fouling. As a result I think this plays into NC State’s favor, they won’t force TO’s which has hurt the Pack and won’t send the Pack to the FT line where they have trouble.
If the Pack is looking for someone to draw a foul from that’s Freshman Guard Deshaun Morman (#1) who has an astounding 28% possessions but draws 7 fouls/40 minutes.
Players to be aware of are #11 FR SF Gary Clark & #2 JR Octavius Ellis. Both are efficient shooters and rebounders on both ends. Ellis is great at blocking shots and getting to the FT line (though not very good at shooting them) but is a little TO prone.
