Bryan Murphy
Sophomore forward Abdul-Malik Abu follows through after a dunk in the Wolfpack's 88-80 loss to Duke on February 6, 2016. Abu posted 16 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists in the loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The NC State men’s basketball team is in the midst of a 2-9 start to ACC play. Hovering around .500, the Pack desperately needs a win as in-state rival Wake Forest pays a visit to PNC Arena Saturday.
The Wolfpack (12-12, 2-9 ACC) had a promising showing in its last game against the Duke Blue Devils but ultimately fell short, losing 88-80 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Demon Deacons (10-13, 1-10 ACC) have struggled mightily this season, with their only win coming against State Jan. 10.
The tale of the Pack all season has been its two star players, junior Cat Barber and sophomore Abdul-Malik Abu. Barber’s been on a tear as of late, leading the ACC in scoring at 23.5 points per game. Barber also leads the ACC in minutes per game, as the Hampton, Virginia native’s averaging just under 39 minutes per game. Abu’s posted nine double-doubles this season, T-22nd in the country and fourth best in the ACC.
Sophomore Caleb Martin’s cooled down since his hot start to the season. But his cool-down led to the emergence of his brother, sophomore Cody Martin, who’s played extremely well over conference play.
Head coach Danny Manning and the Deacons haven’t had much to celebrate this season. With one win in ACC play and a sub-.500 record, Wake Forest is already looking forward to next season. Senior Devin Thomas is the leading scorer for the Demon Deacons, averaging 16.0 points per game on the season.
Thomas along with freshman Bryant Crawford and sophomore Konstantinos Mitoglou, who average 13.5 and 10.3 points per game respectively, give the Deacs three players who average double figures. Senior Codi Miller-McIntyre also poses a huge scoring threat, posting several big games last season.
Wake Forest hasn’t been abysmal like Boston College, as it’s been competitive in several games this season. The Deacs looked embarrassing in blowout losses to Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and Notre Dame, but looked very impressive in narrow losses to Virginia, Louisville and Virginia Tech. Still, Wake Forest doesn’t seem to be going anywhere in the midst of this lost season.
State faces a similar predicament, having just one more conference win than Wake. If the Pack made a couple of plays in some key games this season, it may be looking at a decent conference record rather than an ugly one. Unless the Pack were to win out and make a deep run in the ACC Tournament or win it, an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament seems more like a fairytale than a reality at this point.
And with the recent news that Louisville won’t participate in the ACC Tournament due to a self-imposed postseason ban, the field of opponents in the conference’s tournament just got that much more favorable for the Pack. And considering what happened to the 1983 NC State team, nothing’s impossible in this day and age.
Regardless, it all starts with Saturday’s game against the Demon Deacons. If the Pack can come out victorious in a must-win game, there still may be hope for some 1983-esque magic for the Wolfpack come March.