| Four Factors | NC State |
Clemson |
| eFG% | 42.6 | 52.8 |
| Turnover Rate | 16.8 | 16.8 |
| Off Reb Rate | 42.9 | 25.0 |
| FT Rate | 55.6 | 43.4 |
| Pts | Poss | OFF_EFF | DEF_EFF | |
| Clemson | 73 | 65.6 | 111.3 | 106.7 |
| NCSU | 70 | 65.6 | 106.7 | 111.3 |
A good effort in the second half and an impressive comeback after I'd considered the Pack dead and buried, but ultimately it wasn't enough to overcome the flat effort and poor shooting in first half. Clemson built its lead with 65% shooting and a 12.6 turnover percentage in the first half, took a massive nose dive in both areas in the second, but got just enough at the end, including a huge block by Jerai Grant in the final 35 seconds.
Good:
-- NC State finished with a decisive edge on the glass, led by Richard Howell's 12 boards in 26 minutes. Howell's ten second-half boards were a major reason why State grabbed 45% of its misses and limited Clemson to 15.8% of their own in that half. Pretty good job scoring the ball, too; I just wish he'd stop with the three-point attempts.
-- NC State shot 80% (24-30) from the line. Julius Mays was perfect from the stripe for the second consecutive game.
-- There were lots of tenuous moments as State worked the ball up the court against Clemson's press, some obvious and painful lapses, but they finished with an impressively low TO%. NC State hadn't kept its turnover percentage against Clemson under 23.9%, much less 20%, since 2005.
-- Farnold Degand did not shoot the ball well, but he seemed the only guard willing to press an advantage in transition situations, the only guard willing to attack the defense in general, and the only guard who could run an effective 2-on-1.
Bad:
-- I thought Sid waited too long to make a change in the first ten minutes when it was clear that Dennis Horner and Tracy Smith were no match for Trevor Booker inside.
-- Javi did not score and committed 4 turnovers in 10 minutes. By necessity, there could be no Javi Time in crunch time. A bunch of wasted minutes between Javi, Horner, and C.J. Williams today.
-- NC State won the rebounding battle in both halves but did not start cleaning up on the defensive glass until the second half, a key factor in a narrow loss.
