Coming off back-to-back losses, Cal and NC State will both be eager to put tallies in the win column when they meet on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.
NC State (9-8, 2-4 ACC) is coming off the more excruciating defeat. The Wolfpack led at Virginia Tech on Wednesday by 15 points early in the second half and were up by a point with two seconds left. But NC State fouled Jaden Schutt after he rebounded his own miss, and Schutt knocked down two free throws to grab the lead. An NC State turnover on the inbounds put the game on ice.
Despite the Wolfpack losing four of their last five, coach Kevin Keatts isn’t panicking.
“You look at our team, they’re fighting their asses off, and we’re right there,” Keatts said. “It’s a loose ball here. It’s a missed shot there. It’s a turnover here. It’s a free throw — we’re right there.”
The Wolfpack allowed the Hokies to seemingly score at-will from deep range, as Virginia Tech made 11-of-22 3-pointers.
Cal (8-9, 1-5), which has lost five of its last six, shoots 33.4 percent from 3-point land on average this season. Four Golden Bears knock down at least one deep shot per game.
Andrej Stojakovic had been one of Cal’s hottest shooters, as he was averaging 24 points per game in January before the Golden Bears fell to North Carolina on Wednesday. Stojakovic went cold, scoring just six points on 3-of-13 shooting from the floor.
Getting Stojakovic’s shooting back on track will be key for Cal.
“We’ve got to figure it out,” coach Mark Madsen said. “We’ve got to knock down some of those open threes.”
Stojakovic averages a team-leading 19.5 points per game. Marcus Hill powers NC State with 13.2 ppg, while Jayden Taylor averages 12.5. Hill and Taylor combined for 29 points in the loss to Virginia Tech.
This is the first time NC State and Cal have met in the regular season. The Wolfpack and Golden Bears last faced off in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
–Field Level Media
