NC State Scouting Report

The Wolfpack has one of the most unorthodox paths to the Final Four. They finished tenth in the ACC tenth, largely because of a 4-10 finish over their last fourteen games. A brutal stretch that seemed to seal their tournament fate. Yet, NC State won five games over five days, including beating Duke and North Carolina, to win the ACC tournament championship. Fast forward three weeks and the Wolfpack play in the Final Four against Purdue.

NC State's Offense (DJ's show)

Over the last 10 games, the NC State offense is playing at a similar level to North Carolina and BYU according to Torvik. With DJ Burns in the game, expect a ton of post ups for Burns to score or create. In non-Burns minutes the offense switches to play through DJ Horne on the perimeter.

Player Profile

#0 - DJ Horne*

Horne has proven himself to be a big time scorer and shot-maker. Horne's game is built around his shooting ability, only 17% of his shots have come at the rim. He is especially aggressive shooting on the left side of the court while on the right side he loves driving to his right hand. Lance Jones will get the Horne matchup with an emphasis on not allowing threes.

#30 - DJ Burns*

The surprising star of the tournament, DJ Burns is an offensive beast. He has great ball skills that allow for him to initiate post ups all the way out to the three point line and still get to his exact spot. He has been on a heater in the post, mainly relying on his left hook to score. Purdue will double him from the baseline but the backside help will have to be very good rotating because Burns is a very good passer.

#14 - Casey Morsell*

The strong, physical guard has made some eye-popping plays with his athleticism throughout NC State's nine game win streak. With Horne and Burns, Morsell takes a back seat but I wouldn't be surprised to see NC State try to post Morsell against Purdue's smaller guards. Also, Morsell loves driving to his left hand and will spin back to his right if cut off. I would use Braden Smith on Morsell to try to force and contest jumpers.

#23 - Mohammed Diarra*

More of a utility player, Diarra does a little bit of everything for the Wolfpack. His best skill is his relentless rebounding, often flying in to steal an extra possession. He has made 21 threes but only shoots 31% from three. I would put Edey on Diarra early to shut off his rebounding and let Edey protect the rim.

#12 - Michael O'Connell*

The starting point guard made the biggest shot of the season for NC State when he banked in a three to keep their season alive against Virginia. But O'Connell is more inconsistent with his offensive game, often passing up shots. O'Connell wants to get to his pull up after two dribbles. Purdue should use Fletcher Loyer or Braden Smith to guard O'Connell and daring him to make plays.

#1 - Jayden Taylor

Coming off the bench, he is NC State's microwave scorer. Taylor has scored over 20 points six times and has made 3+ threes ten times this season. Taylor's injury has hindered his ability to get to the rim and has made him more reliant on his jumper to score.

#34 - Ben Middlebrooks

The backup big plays with great energy that makes him a good screener and rebounder. In the post, he has a good drop step right hook but he doesn't get many opportunities to score.

NC State Offensive Sets

Double Pin Down Post

Horns Zoom

Movement Off a Post Double

Iverson Wide Pin Down (Hot Shooter)

Double Screen

NC State Defense

NC State plays a physical pack line style that Virginia made famous. They are solid on the back line helping and rotating quickly to shut down advantages. I have not seen NC State play different styles of defense outside of their normal man to man but they could go zone to preserve their thin front line.

Man to Man (Packline)

• Ball Screens - Drop coverage with Burns and MiddleBrooks as the guards force sideline.

  • They like to switch on screens not involving a center.

• Post - Playing one on one with the guards digging down, on mismatches they will bring a double.

• Off Ball - Focused on gap help, stopping drives before recovering (Similar to Michigan State)

  • The guards are physical and like to shoot screens when possible

  • The bigs are inconsistent fighting for post positioning.

• On Ball - They are content to keep two to three feet of separation and will closeout short

How Can Purdue Score vs NC State

• Attack the rim in the pick and roll - Guards looking to score first

• Hunt threes in transition - The key is Kauffman-Renn running the floor

• Matchup hunting Diarra - guards attacking or big posting a smaller NC State guard

• Bigs doing the work early to get great post/rebounding positioning

Keys For Both Teams

NC State:

1. Another guard besides Horne having success scoring

2. Burns creating shots with his passing out of Purdue's double

3. Keeping Burns and MiddleBrooks out of foul trouble

4. Forcing Purdue into turnovers and quickly capitalizing

Purdue

1. Force Burns to defend a pick and roll every-time down the floor (Only slightly exaggerating)

2. Braden Smith not settling for jumpers and relentlessly attacking the basket

3. Dominate the rebounding game

4. Keep Horne off of the three point line, especially early