A look at the NCAA Tournament matchups set for Friday at Ball Arena in downtown Denver: via MattDSchubert MarchMadness
: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, 7-1, jr. — The Bluejays big man leads the nation in field goal percentage and is a two-time Big East defensive player of the year. He’s part of a solid front line that includes potential NBA draft picks Arthur Kaluma and Baylor Scheierman . Terquavion Smith, N.C. State, 6-4, so. — The No. 3 scorer in the ACC this season at 17.5 points/game, Smith is a volume shooter in the extreme with roughly half of his shots coming from 3-point range .
A six-game losing streak between November and December — a stretch that included three missed games for Kalkbrenner — did damage to Creighton’s record, as did a difficult schedule that included 13 games against NCAA Tournament teams .: Pundits were scratching their heads at the Wolfpack’s inclusion in the field after a 4-5 stretch to close the season in a down ACC. But with the No. 2 offense in the ACC , this team is dangerous.
With a pair of all-ACC guards in Smith and Ole Miss graduate transfer Jarkel Joiner , the Wolfpack lean heavily on their talented backcourt. The Pack like to get out and run , and when they do, good things generally follow. N.C. State is 23-4 when it scores 70 points or more and 0-6 when it doesn’t.
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