North Carolina State is aiming for the NCAA Tournament bubble as it faces Florida State on Tuesday night for an Atlantic Coast Conference game in Tallahassee, Fla.
After an 81-70 home victory Saturday over Boston College, the Wolfpack (17-10, 9-7) moved to No. 77 in the NET rankings, a tool to help set the 68-team NCAA Tournament field.
Florida State (14-13, 8-8), which lost 74-63 at Clemson on Saturday and has dropped four of its past five, could be defensively vulnerable to NC State’s perimeter attack.
NC State’s offense goes through shooting guard DJ Horne, who was held to 13 points Saturday after scoring 24 or more in six straight games. Instead, big man DJ Burns Jr. led the Wolfpack with 19 points.
“That makes it a lot easier,” said Horne, who leads NC State with 17.6 points per game. “I don’t have to put too much pressure on myself to score the ball.”
Said Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts: “I was shocked he (Horne) didn’t put up 30 tonight. I don’t know if I’ve seen a guy who has played as well as he has in a six-game period.”
Burns averages 12.2 points, but the spotlight will be on Horne and fellow guards Casey Morsell and Jayden Taylor (11.4 ppg each).
Florida State gives up 74.8 points a game (259th in the nation) and allows 35 percent on 3-pointers (278th). The Wolfpack’s Horne is a 43.2 percent shooter from behind the arc.
The Seminoles are bigger inside than NC State. Forward Jamir Watkins leads FSU in scoring (14.9) and rebounding (5.9).
Two sophomores, 6-foot-10 Cam Corhen (8.7 ppg) and 6-foot-11 Baba Miller (7.7 ppg), are also threats in the paint for Florida State.
“We try to win games by committee,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “If we all step up, we can be successful. … But we have been consistently inconsistent this year.”
–Field Level Media