North Carolina State has been building a solid resume, and the Wolfpack don’t want to see that diminished as they navigate a potentially difficult portion of the schedule.
Virginia Tech will arrive looking to boost its stock when the teams meet Saturday afternoon at Raleigh, N.C.
“I think Virginia Tech is way better than their record in league,” NC State coach Will Wade said. “And so we’ve got to get ready for a really good Tech squad.”
NC State (17-6, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) has dropped a pair of ACC home games since Jan. 3, while Virginia Tech (16-7, 5-5) has won two road games all season.
With a five-game winning streak, NC State is hovering just outside the top 25 in NET rankings. The Wolfpack battled back from a 13-point hole to win 84-83 at SMU on Tuesday night. Quadir Copeland supplied 16 assists without a turnover.
“We’re a different team when he’s not out there,” Wade said, pointing out the importance of Copeland dodging potential foul trouble. “Obviously 16 assists, but he wouldn’t have gotten those assists if he couldn’t have had some discipline defensively and done everything he needed to do not to foul.”
NC State’s Darrion Williams has connected on three or more 3-pointers in three straight games after hitting six of those shots on his way to 25 points in the SMU game. That was his highest point total in 2 1/2 months.
Virginia Tech has been off for a week after last Saturday’s 72-58 home loss to Duke, which leads the ACC.
“We need a break,” Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. “We need to get healthy and improve some things.”
Virginia Tech had a player with 20 or more points in six consecutive games, with four players — Jailen Bedford, Tobi Lawal, Ben Hammond and Amani Hansberry — on that list.
Guard Tyler Johnson, who hasn’t played since before Christmas because of an injury, was expected to return against the Wolfpack, but Young told Tech Talk Live on Thursday Johnson is “doing very well” but will miss Saturday’s game.
“He’s just not ready. When you consider wearing that boot as long as he did, he’s making progress, but he’s not ready yet,” Young said of Johnson, who averages 9.5 points per game.
With or without Johnson, it’s a matter of the Hokies making more shots. They’ve shot less than 42% from the field in the past three games.
“You got to step to the plate and got to get a big one down,” Young said.
