Among the variety of things that have gone wrong for NC State this season, we have Ben Middlebrooks spinning a severe tale of woe in league play. He’s been a non-factor over the last five games and went oh-for-the-California-trip from the field. He did not grab one rebound in 16 minutes against Cal, and managed to foul out in just 13 minutes against Stanford.
This is an ill-timed disappearance particularly because Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has missed five of the last eight games. The overall decline in Middlebrooks’ production from 2024 is staggering.
He was an excellent complementary player last season and gave the team extra flexibility off the bench, but this year, well, uh … yeah. It’s not like his role in the offense has changed in a dramatic way, and yet his production has plummeted. No doubt his confidence has gone with it, and the wear of the team’s losing streak isn’t helping.
It seems unlikely that NC State can make a run at the ACC tournament field (lord, “make a run at the ACC tournament field” hurt to write) without Middlebrooks being a plus player—certainly the losing streak says as much.