Turnover Hurricane Hits NC State in Miami Loss
RALEIGH, N.C – The North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Miami Hurricanes tipped off Saturday, January 9th with the Hurricanes walking out of PNC Arena with a 64-59 win.
Both teams came into the contest having played close games in their previous three contests as the Hurricanes fell to Virginia Tech by two points, Clemson by one, and North Carolina by two. The Pack beat North Carolina and Boston College by three points each but fell to the Clemson Tigers by four in overtime.
In their previous contest, the Wolfpack struggled defensively and were only able to force nine Clemson turnovers. Going into the contest, the Wolfpack led the country in turnover margin at +8.6 turnovers per game but finished the contest at a -5 turnover margin.
Following that loss and a struggle on the defensive end, the Wolfpack looked to bounce back against the Hurricanes in a big way. Going into the contest the Wolfpack were ranked fifth in the country in turnovers forced per game as they have forced opponents to turn the ball over a little over 19 times per game.
After missing their first four shots, the Wolfpack went on a 7-0 run to take a 7 to 4 lead at the first media timeout. Despite the Wolfpack’s sloppy play and turning the ball over 12 times in the first, the Wolfpack held a one-point lead at the half.
The Hurricanes were led by Isiah Wong, with 11 points, and Matt Cross with six points. The Wolfpack were led by Thomas Allen and DJ Funderburk with six points each. The Wolfpack defense was very physical and frustrating, as they were able to force eight Hurricane turnovers at the half.
Miami started the second half with Isaiah Wong picking up where he left off in the first half. Wong knocked down two straight jumpers and Earl Timberlake scoring five points as part of a 7-0 run which gave the Hurricanes a 40-36 lead at the first media timeout.
The Wolfpack went on a 9-0 run over a three-minute 25-second span to jump out to a 49-45 lead at the 7:50 mark left in the game. This run was extended as the Hurricanes didn’t score for seven and a half minutes before a goaltending call got Miami back on the board.
The Wolfpack struggled to protect the ball in this game as the Hurricanes forced 16 Wolfpack turnovers. This is something the Wolfpack has struggled with all season as they have turned the ball over almost 13 times per game. Their strength all season has been the +8.6 turnover margin against opponents but in the contest against the Hurricanes, they were -3.
The Wolfpack struggled the entire game as they shot 22-58 from the field (37.9%) and 7-21 (33.3%) from behind the three-point line. The Wolfpack could not find a way to slow down Isiah Wong as he scored 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. The Hurricanes also got 13 points from Earl Timberlake. The Wolfpack were led by Thomas Allen with 14 points and DJ Funderburk with 12 points and eleven rebounds.
The Wolfpack were able to outrebound the Hurricanes 38 to 30. Having two big men like Manny Bates and DJ Funderburk being able to rotate in and out all game, made things difficult for the Hurricanes to grab many rebounds inside the paint. Even though the Wolfpack outrebounded the Hurricanes, their struggles on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court were the keys to the defeat.
The Wolfpack (6-3, 2-2 ACC) look to bounce back from two close losses, as they head to Tallahassee, on Wednesday, January 13th to face the Florida State Seminoles.