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NC State vs Florida State Prediction and Preview

ByKyle Nachtsheim

Dec 7, 2024
NC State vs Florida State prediction and preview GFXNC State vs Florida State prediction and preview GFX

Read below for a full NC State vs Florida State prediction and preview.

A five-game winning streak for NC State seems to be a distant memory, as the Wolfpack have lost three straight games to power conference teams. The latest defeat came at the hands of Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge, falling 63-59. Dontrez Styles, after only scoring six points in San Diego, scored a team-high 17 points off the bench.
Florida State is glad to not be playing another SEC team, as their only losses are against SEC members. The Seminoles fell to LSU 85-75 on Tuesday, with Malique Ewin leading the scoring with 17 points. After last season’s loss in Tallahassee, the Wolfpack lead the series by a slim 32-21 record, with Kevin Keatts currently having a 2-6 record against Florida State.

General Information:

Teams: NC State (5-3) and Florida State (7-2)

Tip time: 4 p.m.

Watch: ESPNU

Listen: Wolfpack Sports Network

Latest on Florida State basketball:

After missing the NCAA Tournament over the last three seasons, it looks like coach Leonard Hamilton is starting to find his team’s groove after seeing their best nine-game start since the 2020-21 season. Senior Guard Jamir Watkins leads the team, and fifth amongst ACC players, with 17.0 PPG. Since becoming a full-time starter last season, he has only scored under 10 points just six times in 40 games.

 

One part of their offense that has improved over last season is shooting from beyond the arc. This can be attributed to the Seminoles’ three players they got from the transfer portal, who currently are three of the top four scorers from three-point range. Bostyn Holt, a transfer from South Dakota, is continuing to improve on his career-high 39.1% from last season. Despite only averaging 17.1 minutes a game, he leads Florida State by connecting on 55.6% of his three-point shots.

On the defensive side, they have vastly improved their ability to steal the ball from their opponents. In nine games, they average 10.7 steals a game. This ranks Florida State in the top ten in the nation and the only ACC team in the top 50, with Duke in second place with 9.0 and ranking 51st. With 18 steals already in the first nine games, Chandler Jackson is already close to setting a single-season career-high, needing only six more.

Latest on NC State basketball:

The Wolfpack are coming into this game on a three-game losing streak, with all three games coming against power conference teams. It remains to be seen if the lessons learned going through this gauntlet will bear fruit in conference play.

NC State has turned the ball over more on average than they did all of last season, committing 10.3 per game. But this number has improved from 11.2 prior to their last three-game stretch. In fact, only once in eight games has NC State committed more turnovers than their opponents. The primary difference on the defensive end is getting points off opponents’ turnovers, going from 13 points a game in the five wins to averaging 2 points in the three losses.


After going o-for-10 from beyond the arc against Coastal Carolina, the Pack has shot over 30% three times. This includes a season-high 39.1% against BYU.  Brandon Hutley-Hatfield, a transfer from ACC rival Louisville, has helped the team with their three-point woes by shooting 40% through the first eight games. This will be a battle of the top two three-point defenses, so the team that can stop the threes from raining down will be the victor.

 

Prediction: NC State by 4

By Kyle Nachtsheim