Worst losing streak of Coach Keatts’ career at 7 games
Game Summary:
I can’t believe we Pack fans stayed up after 1:00 AM (on the east coast) just to watch such a poor performance.
The first half was all about Cal’s 3PT shooting. They are shooting 31.3% (26.3% ACC games only) for the season but shot 50% (5-10) for the half. Wilkinson (27.8% on the season) was 2-3, Blacksher (32.8% on the season) was 3-5. At the other end of the court, Ben Middlebrooks got his second foul at the 8:37 mark after recording no stats at all, so with Huntley-Hatfield not on the trip, Ish Diouf got 14 minutes in the half. He was 3-3 from the field, including 1-1 from 3PT. Trey Parker only got 6 minutes, but played well and scored 7. 34-30 Cal at the half.
The first half was mediocre but the Pack stayed close, the second half was bad. NC State shot 38% / 14% / 100% for the half. Marcus Hill (12) and Jayden Taylor (9) scored 21 of the Wolfpack’s 32 points. No one else hit more than one basket. Rebounding was tied at the half, but Cal dominated the second, outrebounding the Pack 27-15. Taylor hit a 3PT shot at 6:32 to get within 5 at 57-62, from there the Wolfpack went cold for the next 5:15 and Cal led by as much as 15. Cal went on a 12-5 run, for the final 12-point victory, 62-74.
Overall Takeaways:
- Cal dominated the box score in almost every statistical category. NC State did very little well.
- Huntley-Hatfield was unavailable for the California trip. Middlebrooks was in foul trouble most of the game, playing only 16 minutes, 2 points and zero rebounds.
- NC State rebounded well in the first half and tied it at 17, but were dominated by Cal in the second, losing the rebounding 44-32 for the game
- NC State and Cal average about the same team 3PT% overall for the season at about 31%. Cal shot 42.9% for the game and hit 9, the Wolfpack shot 23.1% for the game and hit 3.
- Cal averages 10.3 assists, they got 16. NC State averages 12.5 assists and ended up with 5.
Individual Highlights
- Marcus Hill was the only player in double figures scoring with 20.
- Dontrez Styles was 3-16 shooting, but led the team in rebounding with 10 and had 2 blocked shots
- Michael O’Connell led the team in assists with 3