An abysmal shooting night doomed the NC State men’s basketball team as it fell to the Michigan Wolverines 66-59 at PNC Arena Tuesday night.
The Wolfpack (4-3) came out playing aggressive man defense, forcing two turnovers in the first two minutes against the usually sure-handed Wolverines (5-2). The offense came out quick as well, with a 3-pointer from Caleb Martin putting the team up 5-0 to start the game.
The Pack continued to play strong defense well into the first half, with BeeJay Anya picking up two blocks in consecutive possessions. The team also moved the ball well on offense, avoiding turnovers and finding opens shots, though its inability to find its range from beyond the arc allowed Michigan to keep the score close.
With NC State leading 11-7 at the 11:31 mark, Michigan caught fire from the field, making seven of eight shots, and the Pack was unable to keep up after point guard Anthony “Cat” Barber was forced to the bench with two fouls.
Walk-on Michigan forward Duncan Robinson made his first three attempts in close succession, all 3-pointers, which extended the Wolverines lead to 24-18 with 5:03 left in the half.
Freshman forward Shaun Kirk was subbed into the game to lock off Robinson, who had been guarded by freshman guard Maverick Rowan, but he picked up two fouls in just 16 seconds of play and was pulled after just a minute of court time.
Rowan, who came into the game second on the team in 3-point field goals, missed his first three attempts before finally connecting to end a 10-0 Michigan run at the 2:52 mark, with the score 28-21.
A flurry of made baskets by both teams advanced the score to 34-26 in Michigan’s favor before the half.
Notably absent from the box score in the first was sophomore forward Abdul-Malik Abu, who entered the game fourth on the team in scoring average but went 0-5 from the field. Barber led the way with 10 points on eight shots.
The Wolfpack came out ice-cold to start the second half, missing its first four attempts from the field and allowing Michigan to extend the lead to 40-30.
However, the disciplined Michigan defense that committed just three fouls in the first half began to falter, putting NC State in the bonus just seven minutes into the half.
The Pack executed at the line, sinking six straight free throws, before a 3-pointer from the previously quiet Caleb Martin cut the score to 46-39. The Martin brothers would add the next three points to cut the Wolverine lead to just four at the halfway mark in the half.
With the momentum, the Pack forced turnovers and created transition opportunities. However, a mishandled ball by Kirk on a fast break that could have cut the Michigan lead to two took the air out from underneath State. Michigan countered with consecutive 3-pointers and a 50-46 game quickly turned into a 10-point margin with under five to play.
NC State didn’t cut the lead to less than seven from there, as Michigan guard Caris LeVert hit his final six free throws to suppress any hopes of a Wolfpack comeback.
The game would end at 66-59, sending NC State to 4-3 on the season. Only Barber and Caleb Martin would score double-digit points for the Wolfpack, with 16 and 19 respectively. Rowan and Abu combined for just seven points on 1-of-17 shooting.
“Maverick struggled,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “For a freshman, he’s played really, really well. Tonight he just had one of those nights.”
Despite gaining a 13-to-2 advantage on the offensive glass and winning the turnover margin 7-to-11, the Wolfpack was unable to capitalize on these extra possessions, shooting just 33 percent from the field.
“We’ve got to score the ball better than that,” Gottfried said. “We couldn’t even get an offensive rebound to get in the basket it seemed like, but our kids played really hard. They never quit; we just had a difficult shooting night.”
Michigan finished the night 50 percent from the field with LeVert and Robinson leading the scoring charge with 18 and 17 respectively.
“Michigan’s a very good shooting team,” Gottfried said. “They spread you out. You’re so concerned with their shooters at times and then they use their pick-and-roll and dive down the middle of the floor and we were late on our rotations a couple of times.”
The Wolfpack returns to action Saturday, hosting Bucknell (3-3) at PNC Arena.
Sophomore guard Caleb Martin drives past a defender to the hoop in the Wolpack's 66-59 loss to Michigan on December 1, 2015. Martin made 5 of 12 field goals, 3 of 9 from behind the arc, and had 4 assists in the loss to the Wolverines at PNC Arena.
