FSU basketball (7-4, 1-1 ACC) had not been on the hardwood for nearly three weeks before traveling to beat an NC State (7-7, 0-3 ACC) team 83-81, that had been playing like nothing was going on. The Wolfpack hadn’t been playing well, but at least they were at home and didn’t have any rust to knock off as three-point betting favorites.
The Noles started a little slowly, as expected, with the long layoff, but found some rhythm as the Noles had four players in double figures. Malik Osborne led the way with 19 points and six rebounds. Cameron Fletcher provided a spark off the bench with 14 points. Caleb Mills and Matthew Cleveland chipped in with 13 points, with Cleveland grabbing a team-high nine boards, respectively.
FSU basketball led 43-41 at the half but faced some adversity in the second half, overcoming a seven-point deficit with 11:23 remaining. NC State was red hot from three-point range, making 12 of 27. However, FSU made 6 of 15 from the three-point land and won the battle of the boards, which was an issue in the early season.
They made some crucial free throws down the stretch to finish 19 of 26. The biggest difference in the game was NC State shooting much better than their season average from the floor and beyond the arc.
I thought it was a good sign FSU found some offense, although NC State is one of the worst teams with defensive field goal percentages. However, FSU’s defense forced 16 turnovers and capitalized in the transition game on several occasions.
I thought overcoming the deficit in the second half was big for the team’s confidence as they faltered in other games when they needed someone to make a game-winning play.
Could this game be the same catalyst as last year when FSU beat NC State and went on a crazy run? The good news is, the ACC isn’t great this year.
They will travel back to North Carolina Tuesday night for another road contest against Wake Forest. The tip will be at 7 p.m. ET and will air on ACCNX.