New on Sports Illustrated: NC State aims for 2-0 against North Florida

-

North Carolina State opened its season Wednesday night with a big win and will look to stay undefeated Friday as the host team in the Mako Medical Wolfpack Invitational.

The Wolfpack (1-0) will return to action against North Florida (0-1) as the schools meet in Raleigh in their second games of the tournament and season.

NC State used an 11-0 run over a five-minute span late in the first half and tallied 19 straight points early in the second to pull away from undermanned Big South opponent Charleston Southern -- playing without its top two scorers -- in a 95-61 win.

Guard Devon Daniels set a career-high with 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and sharpshooter Braxton Beverly added 13.

The Wolfpack opened at venerable 5,500-seat Reynolds Coliseum, where they improved to 21-2 since 1999 while playing before just 25 fans.

"We have to figure out how to create our own excitement," said NC State coach Kevin Keatts of the challenge ahead. "It's almost like the atmosphere of the game will be like a scrimmage or a practice every day, and you've got to figure out how to come together and be loud."

North Florida lost 80-67 to Eastern Kentucky in the night's first game.

The Ospreys, the Atlantic Sun's co-champion, begin the season with three games in two different places. After Friday's contest in Raleigh, the team will return to Florida and head to Coral Gables for a meeting with Miami on Sunday.

Despite UNF returning as the conference's co-champion after a 21-12 season, the coaches and media both picked coach Matthew Driscoll's squad to finish fourth this season.

On Wednesday, junior Carter Hendricksen -- a 6-foot-7 unanimous ASUN preseason All-Conference selection -- poured in a game-high 20 points, including five 3-pointers, to go along with seven rebounds. Jose Placer made his UNF debut a good one with 13 points -- going 6-of-6 from the foul line -- and added five assists.

The Ospreys outscored Eastern Kentucky 33-30 in the second half but lost for the 19th time in 21 meetings against Ohio Valley Conference opposition.

"At the start of the second half, we got defensive stops on nine of the first 12 possessions which limited their pressing ability," Driscoll said. "We chipped away at the lead, but then we had some errant shots and did some things out of character."

--Field Level Media

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New on Sports Illustrated: NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 80 Prospect Rankings

-
Image
Ranking the top 80 players in the 2021 NBA draft with the NCAA tournament in the rearview. View the original article to see embedded media. With three months until draft night and the NBA’s regular season winding down , the league at large has begun shifting full focus to the off-season. Players have until May 30 to declare as early entrants for the draft, after which point the predraft process will open up in full, leading up to the combine and lottery at the end of June . Our Big Board is long overdue for an update, and fully expanded out to 80 prospects as we all attempt to make sense of the big picture moving forward. As usual, the Big Board is primarily based on my personal evaluations from both live viewings and on film, in many cases dating back several years. The rankings also incorporate feedback and opinions I glean from NBA executives, scouts, and others around the industry. This is not a mock draft, and team fit is not considered, but it is also intended to be somewhat
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: The Patriots’ Post-Brady Era Begins Now

-
Image
In Mac Jones, Bill Belichick drafted a Round 1 quarterback for the first time ever—and looks to usher in a return to dominance. Of course the first time Bill Belichick drafts a first-round quarterback, it’s one for whom he could get an unvarnished scouting report from good buddy Nick Saban —and without even having to do any draft-day maneuvering. Now, the post-Tom Brady era in New England really begins. The Patriots treated 2020 as something of a gap year, with a league-high eight opt-outs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a starting quarterback, Cam Newton, who didn't sign with the team until June. They were, for the first time in two decades, mediocre, but that 7–9 record bought them the ticket to a fresh start: the No. 15 pick, which they used Thursday night on Alabama QB Mac Jones. The oft-cited statistic that Belichick had never drafted a QB higher than pick No. 62—used on Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014—was inherently flawed, given that Belichick had Brady as a starter for 19 of
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: NCAA Board of Governors Unanimously Votes to Extend Mark Emmert’s Contract

-
Despite recent controversy, the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to extend Mark Emmert's contract through 2025. The NCAA Board of Governors unanimously voted to extend president Mark Emmert's contract through Dec. 31, 2025. The news was announced Tuesday as a one-line news item buried within a larger update after the board's quarterly meeting. He's the fifth president in NCAA history and has been in the role since 2010. Emmert previously held high-ranking roles at Washington, LSU, Connecticut and Montana State. His base salary is reportedly $2.7 million.  Within the announcement, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to updating name, image and likeness rules. Dellenger: Inside the Hidden Industry of Name, Image and Likeness and the Changing World for College Athletes Emmert came under fire after disparities were shown between the men's and women's college basketball tournaments this year, specifically the weight room. Prior to the public backlash,
Read more