Charleston Southern @ NC State preview

Charleston Southern at NC State

Last Meeting ( Dec 12, 2014 ) Charleston Southern 50, NC State 86

Kevin Keatts’ debut as North Carolina State’s coach resulted in a dominant performance, and the Wolfpack will try to repeat it when they host Charleston Southern on Sunday. Seven players scored in double figures in the Wolfpack’s 102-67 rout of VMI on Friday in Keatts’ first game at the helm.

Keatts executed a quick turnaround at UNC Wilmington, and he appears poised to do the same for an N.C. State team that went 15-17 last season. The fact that seven members of the Wolfpack scored in double figures is made even more remarkable by the fact that the squad dressed only nine players. Freshman guard Braxton Beverly still hasn’t been cleared by the NCAA, and two players – including top returning scorer and rebounder Abdul-Malik Abu – are out with injuries. Charleston Southern opened its season with a 110-62 loss at Davidson on Friday after falling behind 24-0.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ACC Network

ABOUT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (0-1): The Buccaneers have serious concerns at the defensive end after giving up 26 3-point field goals against Davidson. Things didn’t look great at the other end of the floor Friday, either, as junior-college transfer Travis McConico was the only player to score in double digits with 17 points, though they were without their entire starting backcourt in Christian Keeling and Cortez Mitchell. Keeling is the team’s top returning scorer (17.3 points) and rebounder (7.1 rebounds), and Mitchell averaged 11.1 points a season ago.

ABOUT N.C. STATE (1-0): The Wolfpack lost their top three scorers from last season, and their top returner is sidelined, so their triple-digit effort in the opener is impressive. Allerik Freeman, a graduate transfer from Baylor, recorded 17 points and eight rebounds in his N.C. State debut, and Lennard Freeman added 15 points in his return after missing all of last season following leg surgery. The most encouraging stat line, however, might have belonged to sophomore point guard Markell Johnson, who produced 14 points, nine assists and four steals.

TIP-INS

1. N.C. State has won all seven meetings with the Buccaneers by an average of 35.7 points.

2. The Wolfpack forced 21 turnovers in Friday’s season opener, more than they forced in any game last campaign.

3. Charleston Southern allowed Davidson to shoot 50 percent overall and 49.1 percent from 3-point range and forced only one turnover.

PREDICTION: N.C. State 106, Charleston Southern 68