On Saturday at 4:00 PM PT on ACC Network, Stanford men’s basketball will welcome NC State to The Farm. Stanford comes in at 15-8 overall and 7-5 in the ACC while NC State comes in at 9-13 overall and 2-9 in the ACC.
Last time out: Stanford had a disappointing 79-73 loss to Wake Forest on Wednesday. Stanford made a valiant effort without point guards Jaylen Blakes and Benny Gealer but came up short.
RECAP: Stanford MBB unable to get even with Wake Forest
On NC State: The Wolfpack are having a rough season after a miraculous run to the Final Four a season ago. They’ve been ok at home with a 9-5 record, but on the road they are an abysmal 0-6 and also 0-2 in neutral site games, making them winless away from Raleigh.
Senior guard Marcus Hill leads the Wolfpack with 12.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while senior guard Jayden Taylor (12.0 points) and senior guard/forward Dontrez Styles (10.0 points) are also scoring in double figures. The Wolfpack have a familiar face on their team in former Stanford point guard Michael O’Connell, who is averaging 6.4 points and 3.3 assists per game. O’Connell graduated from Stanford with a degree in economics in three years, which is pretty impressive.
As a team, the Wolfpack average 69.5 points per game on 43.6% shooting from the field, 31.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 71.8% shooting from the foul line. They average 32.5 rebounds, 12.2 assists, 6.6 steals, 4.2 blocks, and 9.4 turnovers per game. They also average a -3.5 rebound margin and a +1.3 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 67.7 points per game on 43.9% shooting from the field, 32.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 76.1% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is take care of the ball. If Blakes and/or Gealer is back, that would help a great deal. Ball security wasn’t great against Wake Forest as they didn’t have a true point guard out there. Stanford has to make sure they are taking better care of the ball if they want to beat NC State. Otherwise, turnovers could keep the Wolfpack in this.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is feed Maxime Raynaud. Raynaud is averaging 20.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game this season. Stanford has to do all they can to get him going and allow him to have a big game. NC State simply doesn’t have anyone as good as him on their roster.
Finally, Stanford needs to win the free throw battle. That means both in makes and attempts. Wake Forest got to the line more than Stanford did and made more free throws. That was a huge factor in the game. If Stanford wins the free throw battle today, they should be good.
Prediction: Even if Stanford doesn’t have Blakes or Gealer back, I still think they win this one. They’re really tough to beat at home and NC State hasn’t won a road/neutral site game all season. I’ll say Stanford wins by double digits: 80-70.
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