NC State tip in as time expires. They win the game 66-65 (Final)
NC State calls timeout. They have the ball down 1 with (13.9) left to play.
NC State scores to cut the lead to 1! 65-64 in favor of LSU. (13.9)
Under a minute to play.
NC State timeout.
Mickey back to the line. Misses both. Still 65-62 in favor of LSU (1:03)
Jordan Mickey hits 1 of 2 LSU leads 65-62 (1:25)
Jordan Mickey is fouled. Heads to the line.
Lacey scores for NC State. Lead trimmed to 3. 64-62 LSU. (2:15)
Foul called on Quarterman, his 3rd
Block by Jordan Mickey!
Quarterman hits 1 of 2 to put LSU up 65-60 (3:59)
Quarterman fouled. Media Timeout.
Abu slams cuts the lead to 4! 64-60 LSU still leads. (4:07)
Martin hits both to put LSU up 64-58. (5:00)
Jarell Martin draws contact heads to the line.
Wahington scores again! NC State trails 62-58. (5:39)
Kyle Washington dunk! LSU still leads 62-55. (5:54)
LSU timeout. Johnny Jones checking on Jordan Mickey who went down on that last play. Mickey hops up and motions he is fine.
NC State 3! They trail by 9. 62-53. (7:42)
Washington hits a long 2. 62-50 LSU. (8:20)
Jarell right back to the free throw line. Goes 10 of 2 again! LSU up 62-48 (9:15)
Jarell goes 1 for 2 at the line. LSU leads 61-48 (9:39)
Hornsby banks it in from 3, followed by a Barber 3, followed by a Jarell Martin score. Fast pace. LSU up 60-48 (9:39)
Barber layup is good. Margin back to 10. 55-45 in favor of LSU. (11:24)
Patterson drills a three for LSU. They go up 55-43. (12:09)
Barber goes 1 for 2 at the line. NC State down 52-43 (12:22)
Lennard Freeman finishes through the foul and hits his free throw. NC State trails 52-42. (13:24)
Tim Quarterman finishes with a two handed dunk! LSU lead climbs to 12. (13:59)
Abu hits both free throws to cut the LSU lead to 10. NC State trails 50-40 (14:51)
Abu gets the blocking foul, he will shoot free throws after the media timeout.
Quarterman scores to put LSU up 50-38. (14:51)
Ralston Turner for 3. NC State trails 36-48. (16:04)
After the foul, Quarterman goes 2 for 2 at the line. Lead back to 12 as LSU leads 45-33. (16:40)
Barber scores for NC State. Lead now stands at 10. LSU leads 43-33. (17:10)
Mickey heads to the line after the foul. Makes 1 of 2. LSU leads 43-31 (17:42)
Abu dribbles off his foot. LSU gets it right back.
Travel by Tim Quarterman. NC State will take over.
Mickey mid-range gets the 2nd half started for LSU. They lead 42-26. (19:22)
Halftime: LSU 40 - NC State 26
NC State at the Half: Abdul-Malik Abu 7 points
NC State at the Half: Anthony "Cat" Barber 6 points, 2 rebounds
NC State at the Half: Ralston Turner 7 points, 3 rebounds
LSU at the Half: Jordan Mickey 9 points, 7 rebounds
LSU at the Half: Jarell Martin 10 points, 6 rebounds
LSU at the Half: Tim Quarterman 10 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists
Jordan Mickey slams home the Josh Gray miss to put LSU up 40-26. Half court buzzer beater missed by LSU. (Halftime)
Jordan Mickey converts 3 point play to put LSU up 38-26. (31.9)
Jordan Mickey converts the basket has a chance for a 3 point play.
Martin slams it home off of the Jayln Patterson miss. LSU leads 35-26. (1:03)
Jarell Martin strong bucket inside. LSU leads 33-24. (1:45)
Last touched by LSU. NC State keeps it. Down by 7 (2:25)
Jarell Martin blocked. Stays LSU ball.
Travel called on NC State. LSU takes poss. after media timeout.
Ralston Turner layup. NC State down 22-31. (3:52)
LSU on a 16-4 run.
Gray finger roll is good. LSU goes up 31-20. (4:45)
Patterson easy layup after the steal. LSU up 29-20 (4:58)
Quarterman layup puts LSU up 27-20. Timeout NC State. (5:37)
Jarell Martin dunk in the lane. LSU up 25-20. (5:59)
Mickey steps out of bounds. NC State takes control. (6:55)
Jordan Mickey hits both free throws. LSU up 23-20 (7:20)
Jordan Mickey fouled by Abu. Mickey heads to the line. (7:32)
Jordan Mickey put back dunk LSU up 21-20. (8:13)
Tim Quarterman 3 is good. 19-18 LSU. (8:51)
Free throws are good. 18-16 in favor of NC State. (9:45)
Mickey with a block, led the nation during the regular season.
Abu scores again, NC State leads 18-15. (10:25)
Josh Gray floater is good, narrows lead to 1. (10:59)
Abu hits free throw, NC State up 16-13 (11:18)
Malik Abu converts and draws the foul will head to the line. (11:28)
Team fouls are equal at 2
Goaltending by NC State, Mickey basket will count. Tie game at 13 (12:07)
Ralston Turner for 3. NC State leads 13-11 (12:36)
Hornsby for a deep two. LSU up 11-10 (13:17)
LSU leads rebound battle 6 to 4
Barber drives and scores. NC State up 10-9 (13:46)
Steal by NC State (14:27)
Media Timeout. LSU leads 9-8 (14:35)
Jarell Martin layup. LSU up 9-8 (14:55)
Hornsby for three. NC State by 1 (15:30)
Last touched by LSU, NC State willl regain poss.
Tim Quarterman tip in narrows lead to 2. (16:30)
"Cat" Barber for two, NC State leads 6-2 (17:10)
Barber jumper goes down to give NC State 4-2 lead. (18:04)
Pick and roll leading to a layup ties the game at 2
Continue to follow along on this LIVE NC State - LSU, as I lead you through the action.
The X-Factor(s): The deciding factor may come down to shooting For NC State, they most likely won't have an easy time trying to go inside against the tiger towers so they will most likely look to take and knock down 3's and win the matchup against the LSU guards. For LSU, it will be the exact opposite. Although LSU has some guards that can score the ball, they should definitely look to play inside out. With the dynamic duo of Martin and Mickey, there is no reason one of the two shouldn't get a touch every time down.
How LSU will win: If the Tigers look to escape the first round of the NCAA Tournament they will need to look to stick to their strengths and make smart decisions.
As far as sticking to their strengths, that means going inside to their two star bigs. Both Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin have both averaged a double-double at one point or another this year. As of right now Jordan Mickey averages 15.5 points and 9.8 rebounds, all while leading the NCAA regular season in shot blocking with 3.5 blocks per game.
As for Jarell Martin, he currently averages 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. The star big for the Tigers had a 21 point, 11 rebound game in a 2 point loss to the top ranked Kentucky Wildcats. The extra scoring Martin provides is a perfect complement to Jordan Mickey as both can go inside or step away from the basket and knock down mid-range jumpers.
While LSU has gone with many different lineups, they have shown that there are some very talented guards on their roster. Tim Quarterman has been a huge X-factor for the LSU backcourt. He has been used as a starter and as a bench player, and has also been used at every position from point guard to small forward. At 6'6" 185 lbs., Quarterman may not be the biggest small forward but has great size when at guard. Quarterman was even able to log a triple double earlier this year against Ole Miss when he had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Former UNC Asheville guard Keith Hornsby has also helped bolster the Tiger backcourt. Hornsby has used his great shooting to help out this Tiger team. Notable games for Hornsby this year were against Tennessee when he had his career high with LSU when he had 25 points including 5 three pointers, and against ranked Arkansas when he sank at three at the buzzer to help LSU prevail.
What the Tigers had to say: When Keith Hornsby was asked about the challenge of going against the guard oriented team of NC State, he said, "Their good guards, numbers speak for themselves. They've played a tough conference like us and we have to focus on containing them." When Tim Quarterman was asked if there was set defensive matchups against the NC State backcourt, he replied by saying, "All three of their guards are good, you just have to go out there with the mentality that you can end up on any of the three of them in any given situation."
How NC State will win: Guard, Guard, Guard. When we say guard, we don't mean defend, this writer is referring to the position.
NC State is powered by their three guards who all average double figures in scoring. Trevor Lacey leads them all with 15.8 points per game. Ralston Turner, who formerly played at LSU, is averaging more than he ever did as a tiger. His 13.2 points per game is better than his 12.9 and 9.0 points per game he averaged his two years at LSU. Last but not least is Anthony "Cat" Barber who averages 12.1 points per game, but has that potential to explode in any given game much like he did against Pittsburgh when he dropped 34 in the ACC Tournament.
When it comes to the battle down low, you will most likely see NC State forward Abdul-Malik Abu defending Jordan Mickey. This matchup would feature two very similar sized players. Abdul-Malik Abu is 6'8" 230lbs, and his assumed opposition Jordan Mickey is 6'8" 235lbs. The second big for NC State, Lennard Freeman is 6'8" 245 lbs. He could see either Jarell Martin who is 6'10" 235lbs, or Darcy Malone who is 7'0" 230lbs, depending on if LSU comes out with two or three guards.
What NC State had to say: Although this quote may not have been stated recently, it still shows the determination that got NC State to this year's tournament. After last year’s overtime loss to Saint Louis in the NCAA tournament, NC State guard Ralston Turner was quoted saying, "I remember leaving last year after we lost," Turner explained. "I said to myself, 'I have to get back here. I can't have it any other way."
Hello, and welcome to VAVEL USA's continuing coverage of the NCAA tournament. I'm Brett McGehee, and I will be leading you through the #8 - #9 matchup of NC State - Louisiana State.