After unusual win, NC State readies for trip to No. 12 Auburn
N.C. State’s win over UNC-Greensboro was unusual in more than just the ending.
Markell Johnson’s halfcourt buzzer-beater made it memorable but there was also this statistical oddity: No individual player on N.C. State’s roster was credited with an offensive rebound in the 80-77 road win.
If N.C. State wants to beat a powerful Auburn team for a second straight year, that rebounding stat almost certainly has to change.
The Wolfpack (8-2), on a three-game winning streak, goes to No. 12 Auburn (9-0) on Thursday night (9 p.m., ESPN2).
Isaiah Miller, UNCG’s feisty 6-0 lead guard, had five offensive rebounds and the Spartans had an 18 to 2 advantage on the offensive glass (N.C. State was credited with two “team” rebounds).
“He was really 6-7,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts joked about Miller in an interview on Wednesday.
“No, we got pounded on the glass and we’ve been a pretty good rebounding team but it was an unusual game.”
Since UNCG took so many 3-pointers (24), Keatts said N.C. State had to do a better job of rebounding the area around the free-throw line. That’s where long rebounds off 3-point attempts usually go and that’s where Miller did most of his damage.
Auburn, one of four remaining unbeaten Division I teams, plays a similar style, Keatts said.
Gone from last year’s Final Four team are athletic guards Bryce Brown and Jared Harper and bruising big man Chuma Okeke. But guard Samir Doughty (17.3 points per game) and forward Austin Wiley (10.7 ppg) have stepped into bigger roles and freshman wing Isaac Okoro has added some scoring and toughness.
The Tigers don’t have a flashy marquee win but five of their nine wins have come against teams in the KenPom top 100.
Auburn is ranked No. 7 in the NET, which the NCAA released for the first time this season on Monday. That makes this a “Quadrant 1” road game for N.C. State, which is No. 51 in the NET.
“This is a great opportunity for us,” Keatts said. “And we knew that going into this stretch of four or five games.”
The Wolfpack has navigated through its most difficult stretch of the early part of the schedule with a 3-1 record. It has wins at Wake Forest and UNCG and a home win over Wisconsin. It lost the other “Q1” game on the schedule to Memphis on Nov. 28.
Like Memphis, Auburn has a super-athletic lineup. Like UNCG, Auburn likes to take a lot of 3s. The Tigers average 26.7 3-point attempts per game.
“They take and make a lot of 3s,” Keatts said. “They’re also tremendous offensive rebounding team.”
Rebounding has not been a strength for this N.C. State team. The Wolfpack ranks No. 263 (out of 351 teams) in rebounds per game (34.3) and No. 256 in rebounding margin (minus-1.5).
Auburn ranks No. 11 rebounds per game (43.0), No. 15 in offensive rebounds per game (13.8) and No. 29 in rebound margin (7.8). The Tigers had a 37-30 advantage on the glass last season in Raleigh but the Wolfpack was able to overcome it for a 78-71 win.
After Auburn knocked North Carolina out of the NCAA tournament, former N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow reminded everyone on Twitter what happened when the Wolfpack and Tigers played during the 2018-19 season (We. Beat. Auburn.)
The tweet was probably the highlight of March for N.C. State, which finished the season in the NIT. The highlight of the season was the win over the Tigers, a game it controlled most of the way.
What Keatts remembers from that game was the play of Johnson, who had a career-best 27 points. Johnson made five 3-pointers and had three steals and only one turnover in 33 minutes.
After missing the first game of this season with an ankle injury, Johnson has been finding his form. Including the game-winner at UNCG, the senior guard had 19 points and seven assists.
Since scoring an average of 7.3 points in his first three games of the season — and shooting 11.7 percent (2 of 17) from the 3-point line — Johnson has averaged 15.8 points and made 34.2 percent (13 of 38) of his 3s over the past six games.
“The biggest thing with him is he’s starting to feel more confident,” Keatts said.
Johnson has been consistent with his assists. He leads the team (and ranks third in the ACC) with 6.2 per game. There’s a balance, Keatts said, that Johnson has to find between scoring and setting up his teammates.
“There are going to be games where I need him to score,” Keatts said. “I think he’s starting to understand what the team needs.”
NC State at No. 12 Auburn
When: 9 p.m., Thursday
Where: Auburn, Ala.
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: WRAL-101.5
NC State (8-2)
G Markell Johnson 13.0 ppg, 6.2 apg
G Braxton Beverly 9.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg
G C.J. Bryce 15.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg
F Jericole Hellems 11.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg
F Manny Bates 6.5 ppg, 3.4 bpg
Auburn (9-0)
G J’Von McCormick 9.7 ppg, 6.3 apg
G Samir Doughty 17.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg
G Isaac Okoro 13.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg
F Danjel Purifoy 9.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg
F Austin Wiley 10.7 ppg, 8.9 rpg
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 11:54 AM with the headline "After unusual win, NC State readies for trip to No. 12 Auburn."
