NC State Returns To Raleigh To Host Hofstra For The NIT

The team located in North Carolina’s state capital will conclude their season by hosting the NIT where they will take on Hofstra on Tuesday night.

NC State out of the Atlantic Coast Conference comes into the game with a record of 22-11 while Hofstra comes into the game with a record of 27-7.

As for NC State’s previous game, they lost to Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Charlotte North Carolina.

NC State fell to top-seeded Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Thursday, 76-56. Markell Johnson and D.J. Funderburk led the Pack in scoring with 13 points and 12 points respectively. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/14/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-virginia-in-acc-tournament-quarterfinals.aspx

NC State drops to 22-11 on the season and Virginia improves to 29-2. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/14/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-virginia-in-acc-tournament-quarterfinals.aspx

The Cavaliers used a 14-1 second-half run to rebuild a double-digit lead (49-37), and the Pack would get no closer than nine down the stretch. Virginia took advantage of six Pack turnovers in the second half to collect 11 points on the offensive end. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/14/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-virginia-in-acc-tournament-quarterfinals.aspx

NC State faced an early 10-point deficit after Virginia knocked down six shots in a row from the field to build up a 16-6 lead. The Pack went on to respond by knocking down seven consecutive shots from the floor, including 12 unanswered points, to take a 22-18 lead. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/14/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-virginia-in-acc-tournament-quarterfinals.aspx

The Cavaliers shot 6-of-9 from the field in the first 6:30 of the game, but the Pack held them to just 4-of-15 for the remainder of the first half. NC State also ran into shooting struggles to close out the half, as the Wolfpack converted on just two shots from the field in the final 9:27 of the first half to take a 29-27 lead into the break. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/14/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-virginia-in-acc-tournament-quarterfinals.aspx

The teams traded baskets for the first few minutes of the second half, but Virginia regained the lead after Jack Salt converted an old fashioned three-point play to put the Cavaliers up 35-34 with 15:39 left in the game, its first lead since the 10:17 mark in the first half. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/14/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-virginia-in-acc-tournament-quarterfinals.aspx

Kyle Guy led all scorers with 29 points, including 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Jack Salt (18 pts.) and De'Andre Hunter (16 pts.) rounded out double-digit scoring for the Cavaliers. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/14/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-virginia-in-acc-tournament-quarterfinals.aspx

Like NC State, Hofstra also lost their previous game as they lost to NorthEastern in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship.

Hofstra erased a 16-point halftime deficit, its largest of the season, to tie the game in the second half but Northeastern outscored the Pride, 28-20, over the final 8:50 to post an 82-74 win in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Huskies claimed the CAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Hofstra saw its four-game winning streak end and slipped to 27-7 on the season. Northeastern won for the seventh consecutive game and improved to 23-10.

Justin Wright-Foreman led all scorers with 29 points and became the all-time leader in single season points at Hofstra and in the CAA with 919. Eli Pemberton was the only other Pride player in double figures, with 15 points. Jacquil Taylor had eight points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Tareq Coburn added nine points while Desure Buie had eight points and three assists.  “according to https://gohofstra.com/news/2019/3/12/mens-basketball-mbb-hofstra-falls-to-northeastern-in-caa-championship-game.aspx

Neither team got off to a great start offensively. The Huskies led 4-3 at the first media timeout. Anthony Green gave Northeastern a 2-0 lead with a pair of free throws 1:31 into the game. Coburn gave Hofstra its first points following a dunk and a free throw at the 3:01 mark before Green put the Huskies back on top with a jumper in the paint with 16:07 to go. After Wright-Foreman put the Pride up, 5-4, with a long two-point jumper, the Huskies went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-5 lead with 13:08 to play in the half. Vasa Pusica had two three-pointers in the run. Hofstra used a 7-3 spurt to get within three, 15-12, before the Huskies went on another 8-0 run to take an 11-point lead (23-12) with 7:45 to go. Northeastern would eventually build the lead to 18, 40-22 and 42-24, before settling for a 16-point halftime advantage (42-26). “according to https://gohofstra.com/news/2019/3/12/mens-basketball-mbb-hofstra-falls-to-northeastern-in-caa-championship-game.aspx
 
Hofstra opened the second half with an 8-0 run of its own to cut the deficit in half. Taylor started things off with a layup followed by three free throws from Wright-Foreman. Coburn capped the run with a three-pointer to make it 42-34 with 18:02 on the clock. After a pair of free throws from Northeastern, Wright-Foreman scored back-to-back baskets to make it a 44-38 game with 16:30 to go and forced a Northeastern timeout.”according to https://gohofstra.com/news/2019/3/12/mens-basketball-mbb-hofstra-falls-to-northeastern-in-caa-championship-game.aspx

Northeastern went back up by 10, 54-44, on Pusica's three-pointer with 13:12 to go. But Hofstra responded with a 10-0 run to tie the score at 54 with 9:13 to play on a pair of Taylor free throw. Northeastern scored six unanswered points to go up, 60-54, with 7:44 remaining. The Huskies would go up by as many as 11 points, 71-60, with 3:58 to play on Pusica's sixth three-pointer of the game. Hofstra would cut the lead to five following a 6-0 run over the next 1:55. But that was as close as the Pride would get. The Huskies would hit 8-10 free throws in the final 1:05 to seal the win and their second CAA championship in five seasons. “according to https://gohofstra.com/news/2019/3/12/mens-basketball-mbb-hofstra-falls-to-northeastern-in-caa-championship-game.aspx

Pusica led the Huskies with 21 points on a career-best seven three-pointers. Jordan Roland, Shawn Occeus, and Tomas Murphy had 11 points each. Bolden Brace had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Huskies had 14 three-pointers in the game compared to Hofstra's six. “according to https://gohofstra.com/news/2019/3/12/mens-basketball-mbb-hofstra-falls-to-northeastern-in-caa-championship-game.aspx

Wright-Foreman and Taylor were named to the CAA All-Tournament Team. “according to https://gohofstra.com/news/2019/3/12/mens-basketball-mbb-hofstra-falls-to-northeastern-in-caa-championship-game.aspx

Tip-off is set for 7:00pm from Reynolds Coliseum. The game will be televised on ESPN2.