NC State
LSU
Rematch Of An Epic: Wolfpack vs. LSU
11/24/2015 11:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| NC State (2-2) vs. #22/17 LSU (3-1) | ||
| Date | Tuesday, Nov. 24 | |
| Time | 5:30 p.m. ET | |
| Location | Barclays Center – Brooklyn, N.Y. | |
| Tickets | BarclaysCenter.com | |
| Television | ESPNU (Mark Jones, Kara Lawson) | |
| Radio | Wolfpack Sports Network (Gary Hahn, Tony Haynes) | |
| Game Notes | NC State | LSU | |
| Season Statistics | NC State | LSU | |
| Live Stats | GoPack.com | |
| Social Media | @PackMensBball | Facebook | |
It's the rematch college basketball fans deserve. Last year's NCAA Tournament contest between NC State and LSU was settled with 0.1 seconds on the clock. The Wolfpack prevailed, propelling its season to a Sweet 16 run. LSU returns most of its roster and added a standout recruiting class. The Wolfpack and the Tigers will meet again, this time in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Â
BeeJay Anya had scored one basket all night, a tip-in on a 3-point miss by Ralston Turner. And when NC State called on Trevor Lacey to take its last shot with the season on the line, it was Anya who ended up scoring the bucket.
Â
With 23 seconds left in regulation and LSU leading 65-64, LSU's Tim Quarterman went inside to Jordan Mickey on the left block. Mickey, who would be drafted by the Boston Celtics, missed the lay-up and the ball ended up on the floor. Lacey went to the floor to not only corral the rebound but also keep his dribble alive. With the clock ticking past 16 seconds, Lacey set up the Wolfpack for a shot to win the game. Â
Â
Mark Gottfried called timeout with 13.9 seconds on the clock, with his team in position to score and win the game. The ball went to Lacey, who drove on Quarterman. Right wing, step back. Not there.
Â
Four seconds left. Lacey drove to the middle of the lane and rose to shoot. Not there.
Â
At the last second, he found Anya. One dribble, spin. Left-handed hook.
Â
The ball hit every part of the Energy Consol Center rim before falling in with one tenth of a second on the clock. The Wolfpack had beaten LSU and advanced, setting up a showdown with No. 1 seed Villanova. The Pack defeated the Wildcats 71-68 to complete the weekend of #PackMadness.
Â
Eight months later, the teams are quite different. The stakes aren't the same. It's a resume-building game that could indirectly set up another tournament run for either team. It's a rematch fitting of the bright lights of New York City.
Â
The Starting 5Â -Â The Top 5 Storylines For This Game
1. #WOLFPACKNYCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
In the last 13 months, the NC State men's basketball program has been no stranger to New York City. The two games in Brooklyn will be the team's third visit to the Big Apple in a little more than a year. Mark Gottfried makes a point of having his team gain life experiences off the court in addition to the games played. The team took an educational sightseeing trip during the school's fall break in 2014 and then played West Virginia in Madison Square Garden last December. The educational trip included visits to Rucker Park, the Empire State Building, Amateur Night at the Apollo, Motown: The Musical, the New York Stock Exchange, the National September 11 Memorial and the American Museum of Natural History. While on the trip, the Wolfpack practiced twice at the New York Athletic Club.
2. LEGENDS CLASSICÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Monday's game vs. Arizona State was the Wolfpack's first-ever game at the Barclays Center, which will be the host of the 2017 and 2018 ACC Men's Basketball Tournaments. The Pack came to Brooklyn after defeating South Alabama and IUPUI in regional round play. In three Legends Classic games, Cat Barber is leading the team with averages of 19.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per contest. He has also knocked down 32 of his 37 foul shots during the three Legends Classic outings.
3. NCAA REMATCHÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
The contest vs. LSU is a rematch of last year's NCAA second round game in Pittsburgh, which was won 66-65 by the Wolfpack. LSU led 40-26 at the half but the Pack held the Tigers to 29.2 percent shooting in the second half and came back to win. BeeJay Anya dropped in the winning shot with a left-handed jump hook with 0.1 seconds left. LSU also missed six foul shots in the game's final minutes. Cat Barber led NC State with 17 points in the NCAA win over LSU, which propelled the Wolfpack to a Sweet 16 run.
4. 2 GAMES, 2 DAYS, 8 SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
 After playing Monday's late game, NC State's thin roster will be under duress Tuesday against LSU. The Wolfpack left Barclays Center after midnight Tuesday morning and will now play at 5:30 p.m. the same day. Mark Gottfried right now has eight full scholarship players available to him and just 11 players in uniform overall. Seven Wolfpack players combined to play all 200 minutes of Monday night's action. After losing three of its top four scorers from last season, the Wolfpack saw starting guard Terry Henderson suffer torn ligaments in his right ankle just seven minutes into the regular season. Henderson is projected to miss 6-8 weeks while recovering.
5. RIDING WITH THE STARTERSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
After four games, Mark Gottfried has largely rode with the most recent starting five of Cat Barber, Maverick Rowan and Caleb Martin on the perimeter and Lennard Freeman and Abdul-Malik Abu inside. That group has combined for 625 of the season's 800 minutes, meaning those five players have played 78.1 percent of NC State's possible minutes. Barber is playing 38.2 minutes per game and has only subbed out five times this season. Barber, Martin and Rowan are all playing at least 32.0 minutes per game.Â
Â
