Defense: D
Wisconsin had a chance of going into halftime with a 1-point lead but Markell Johnson made sure that didn’t happen as he hit a three from halfcourt as time expired to give North Carolina State a 32-30 lead.
The three by Johnson carried over into the second half as the Wolfpack picked up where they left off as the Wolfpack used strong second-half shooting to build a lead and take control of the game.
The Wolfpack shot 13-for-25 (52 percent) from the field and 5-for-10 from three in the second half. Overall North Carolina State shot 27-for-56 (48.2 percent) from the field and 8-for-20 (40 percent) from three in the game.
In particular, Wisconsin didn’t have an answer for Jericole Hellems as he lead the Wolfpack with 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field. Hellems was able to generate his offensive success from three as half of his made field goals came from 3-point range as he attempted six total three’s.
Two other players for North Carolina State reached double figures in Markell Johnson and C.J. Bryce as the two finished with 12 and 11 points respectively.
Outside of having success from three, North Carolina State was also able to attack the paint finishing the game with 26 points in the paint. Simply put Wisconsin didn’t do a good job of disrupting the Wolfpacks offense as they allowed them to settle for shots that they wanted and at times allowed for them to create open looks.