It was the Ralston Turner show, ya’ll. Turner had a career high of 33 points on eight 3-pointers. He finished 9-for-18 from the field and 8-for-17 from 3-pointers, missing the school mark by a single basket. Trevor Lacey had 20 points and eight rebounds that also included some Ralston Turner-like three pointers! And, of course, what would a night of Wolfpack Basketball be without a powerhouse slam by Beejay Anya (that I ask you click here to view) to help our traffic out a little!
Tennessee’s pressure and traps served to help State score more easily than it served to disrupt as the Wolfpack shot a blistering 63.2% from two point range (12 of 19) in addition to 42.3% from three point range on 11 of 26 shooting.
The two interesting developments last night that stood out to me was: (1) the amount of playing time and solid performance turned in by Desmond Lee; and (2) Abdul-Malik Abu’s court presence during his 29 minutes of playing time while relegating Lennard Freeman to the bench. Abu finished with eight points.
State is now 9-2 and has a KEY stretch of non-conference games against West Virginia (currently #31 in the RPI); Louisiana Tech (lost to Syracuse by two points); and Cincinnati (#66 in the RPI BEFORE beating Top 25 ranked, San Diego State last night).
NC State defeated the Volunteers for the second season in a row. Last year’s win played a major role in earning the Wolfpack’s third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. While the Vols might not be in tournament contention this year, they are improving much quicker than many expected. Tennessee is now 4-4, but have played a brutal out of conference schedule that ranks near the Top 10 of the entire country. The SEC currently has but a SINGLE ranked team…so, who knows how the year may end up for the Vols.
