NC State preview: Texas Longhorns face familiar foe in First Four

The Longhorns are officially in the dance and they’re meeting a familiar face in Dayton. Texas will take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the First Four, where they can earn the right to face off against BYU in Portland.

Texas played North Carolina State in the Maui Invitational earlier this season, taking home a 102-97 win. A 28-point game from Jordan Pope and Chendall Weaver’s best game of the season gave Texas the narrow win. Can Texas slow down the Wolfpack enough to win again in Dayton?

The Wolfpack, like the Longhorns, is limping into Dayton. The Wolfpack are losers of five of their last six and seven of their last nine. They also profile much like Texas, with a strong, dangerous offense and a questionable defense. Tomorrow night could very well come down to which team, particularly which backcourt, finds their shot early.

NC State By The Numbers

20-13 Overall, 10-8 In ACC Play

Points Per Game: 83.7 – 27th in the country

Points Allowed Per Game: 76.5 – 252nd in the country

Three-Points Percentage: 38.8% – 9th in the country

Quad 1 Record: 5-7, 11 Quad 1 & 2 Wins

Players To Watch

G Paul McNeil Jr.: Averaging 13.9 points per game, McNeil is the elite shooter of the bunch. The sophomore is shooting 42.9% from three on the season, including going 3 for 6 from range against Texas. This is someone that can turn the game on its head in a second.

G Quadir Copeland: The leading scorer from the first matchup, notching 28 points, Copeland is one of the leaders of this team. Copeland sits right at 13.9 PPG as well, but leads the Wolfpack in assists per game(6.6) and steals per game(1.7). Jordan Pope, Tramon Mark and Chendall Weaver need to slow Copeland for Texas to get the win.

F Darrion Williams: Darrion Williams is going to be a major challenge for the Texas defense. The 6’6”, 225lbs senior brings a complete skill-set to the table, shooting over 40% from distance with a strong post game. Without Lassina Troare, Dailyn Swain, Nic Codie and Camden Heide need to step on the defensive end against Williams.

F Ven-Allen Lubin: Lubin is yet another Wolfpack player that sits at 13.9 points per game on the season. He also leads them in rebounding, averaging 7.2 per game, including 9 against Texas the first time around. Matas Vokietaitis and Nic Codie need to keep Lubin off the glass and make sure the elite shooters don’t get another shot at it.

Overall

I expect this game to be similar to the first time around. Now, I don’t think we are seeing 199 points scored tomorrow but I expect to see quite a bit of offense. Four starters for the Wolfpack are hitting nearly 40% of their threes on the season and multiple players have the ability to take over the game and score 25+ tomorrow. The flip side of that is they could go cold from the field, Texas gets to the line and is able to get the win.

This is going to be a fight. Texas will need Jordan Pope and Tramon Mark to step up and match McNeil and Copeland in the backcourt. Matas Vokietaitis needs to force issues inside, getting Lubin into foul trouble. Dailyn Swain needs to win the battle against Darrion Williams, giving Texas the true star on the court tomorrow.

Getting a rematch in Dayton is a remarkably hard thing to pick confidently. Especially when both defenses are questionable at best. The Longhorns need to find their shot early on Tuesday, keep the Wolfpack offense from getting going and hopefully move on to the field of 64.

This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas facing NC State Wolfpack for 2nd time this season in First Four

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