NC State basketball falls to Seton Hall in Maui opener

Head coach Will Wade said Thursday that if N.C. State didn’t play with purpose in its opening game against Seton Hall, the Wolfpack would be “swimming in the ocean.”

Wade’s words may have been hyperbole, but the outcome was real.

N.C. State opened the Maui Invitational without energy, toughness, and it didn’t show the purpose Wade wanted from his team as the Wolfpack dropped its tournament opener, 85-74.

The No. 23 Wolfpack (4-1) became the first ranked team to lose to an unranked opponent this season.

“[Shaheen Holloway] has got good guards that can hawk the ball. He’s got bigs back there that can block shots, affect shots at the rim. They blow things up,” Wade said last week. “If we don’t cut harder than we cut on Monday night, we’re just gonna get annihilated. They’re just gonna blow us up. They’ll send us out of the gym.”

That’s exactly what happened. The Wolfpack was weak in just about every spot, unable to finish consistently in all three levels and the defense didn’t provide much, if any, help. It gave up a season-high in opponent points and opponent shooting percentage (51.8%).

NC State suffers slow start

N.C. State started slowly on both ends of the floor, allowing Seton Hall (6-0) to go on a 10-0 run and take a 10-point lead after five minutes of play. During that span, the Wolfpack missed seven straight baskets.

The Wolfpack defense locked things down for the next six minutes and used the Pirates’ offensive drought to score nine unanswered points. Freshman Matt Able scored seven straight points for N.C. State, cutting his team’s deficit to one point.

The Wolfpack defense could not capitalize on its opportunity and maintain defensive pressure. A minute and a half after Able’s jumper to make the score 16-15, the Pirates went on their own 7-0 run and jumped back out to an eight-point lead.

The Pack and Pirates traded points in the final five minutes of the first half, with N.C. State unable to string together enough stops to take the lead. The Wolfpack trailed by two points at the break.

N.C. State has been a second-half team for most of the year, scoring 222 points — or 55.5 points per game — in the second half of its first four contests. It wasn’t a second-half team against Seton Hall.

The Pirates started on a 9-0 run and extended that to a 16-2 run after four minutes of play in the second half.

“They’ve been back on their heels from the very beginning of the game,” one of ESPN’s broadcasters said. “I really expected to see NC State come out in the second half and hit Seton Hall with a bag of hammers.”

N.C. State had chances to change momentum at several points, but it never fully capitalized. The Wolfpack trailed for nearly 38 minutes of the game, unable to keep up with Seton Hall’s effort.

Ven-Allen Lubin led the Wolfpack with 16 points and nine rebounds in the loss, while Able finished with 15 points with a pair of rebounds and steals.

AJ Staton-McCray paced Seton Hall with 22 points and eight boards. Mike Williams, who was averaging seven points per game, scored 11 in the first half and finished with 14.

Specialty shooting slump

N.C. State entered the game as one of the best 3-point shooting and free throw shooting teams in the nation, but its success did not translate in Game 1 of the Maui Invitational.

The Wolfpack started the game 1 of 7 (14.2%) from the arc, with Able making the only 3-pointer in the first 10 minutes. Paul McNeil scored the only other 3, of the first half with 4:30 left in the first half.

At the line, N.C. State started 5 of 5 on free throws before missing four straight. Four points that could’ve given the Wolfpack the lead going into halftime.

It finished 16-22 (72.7%) from the line, missing just one free throw in the second half, and 8 of 24 (33.3%) from the perimeter. Those areas improved, but N.C. State’s defensive effort wasn’t enough to turn the tide.

Prior to the matchup, N.C. State ranked No. 10 in the country for 3-point percentage (43.1) and No. 43 for free throw efficiency (77.8). Those numbers will certainly drop after what could best be described as an offensive collapse.

Seton Hall block party

If anyone doubted Seton Hall’s defensive prowess, contributing it to the level of competition, the Pirates proved those people wrong.

The Seton Hall defense disrupted the Wolfpack all game, forcing turnovers, blocking shots and picking off ball handlers. N.C. State’s size in the middle, which is undersized, was exposed. It couldn’t compete with the tougher and larger Pirates defenders, who shut down the paint with ease.

N.C. State finished with 26 points in the paint, its lowest number of the season, and went 9-22 on layups. Seton Hall blocked nine shots, six of which took place in the second half.

Even when the Pirates weren’t getting blocks, they finished with 11 steals and out-rebounded the Wolfpack, 37-30. Thirty of Seton Hall’s rebounds came on the defensive end.

Williams must contribute consistently, remain on the floor

Darrion Williams is one of the most important and best players on the Wolfpack roster. He was a nonfactor in the first half and was limited in the second.

N.C. State’s leading scorer was averaging 23.3 points per game in the first four contests, which was No. 9 in the country. He scored two points and took only three shots in the first half.

Williams made N.C. State’s first bucket after the break and hit a 3.

The senior transfer from Texas Tech got into early foul trouble, as well, picking up his fourth foul with 12 minutes left in the game. He still played for 15 minutes after the break, and when N.C. State made its handful of offensive surges, typically when he was taking control.

Williams entered the game hitting 3-pointers at a 61.9% clip, which leads Power Four, and ranks No. 10 in the country, according to KenPom. However, he ranks No. 4 in the nation and No. 1 in the ACC, according to the NCAA, for players who average 2 1/2 3s per game and appear in 75% of their team’s contests.

The senior finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two assists. It wasn’t necessarily a bad game for most players, but Williams did not contribute in the way N.C. State needs or expects him to. That’s something they will need to address before their second game of the tournament on Tuesday.

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