Games on a college basketball schedule don’t contrast much more than the two NC State has this week.
The Wolfpack (6-3) host Coppin State (0-10) on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C., then hit the road to challenge No. 10 Kansas on Saturday.
NC State enters its unusual week after snapping a three-game skid with an 84-74 overtime win at home Saturday against Florida State in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
Transfers Marcus Hill and Dontrez Styles each had their season high, scoring 23 and 21 points, respectively. They scored 13 of NC State’s 14 points in overtime.
“Dontrez Styles was tremendous,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said. “In the second half, he made play after play.”
Hill, who was the top scorer last year at Bowling Green (20.5 points per game), and Styles, who was the second-leading scorer last year at Georgetown (12.8 ppg), combined to hit 14 of 25 shots and pull down 11 rebounds.
The win followed defeats to then-No. 13 Purdue and BYU, both by double-digit margins, in the Rady Children’s Invitational and a 63-59 loss to Texas in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
“The little things that impact the game are defending, making free throws and blocking out,” Keatts said. “We handled that much better than we did against Texas.”
Coppin State arrives in Raleigh on a 23-game losing streak dating to January — the longest current run of futility in Division I.
Each of the Eagles’ losses this season have come by double-digit margins, though they have been more competitive lately, falling to Baltimore rival Loyola (Md.) 68-57 and at Wagner 65-52 last week.
Julius Ellerbe III has been one of Coppin’s most reliable players lately, scoring a combined 20 points in the last two games. He had 16 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to George Mason last month.
Teammate Peter Oduro recorded a double-double, with 16 points and 10 rebounds, in last month’s loss at Saint Joseph’s.
“These things take time,” Coppin State second-year coach Larry Stewart said. “It takes time to establish your culture. It takes time to get the right players in your system.”
–Field Level Media
