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NC State women's basketball excited about high profile ACC showdown

MattCarterby:Matt Carter•01/19/22•

TheWolfpacker

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NC State women's basketball coach Wes Moore (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

NC State women’s basketball coach Wes Moore acknowledged that Louisville is one of those teams you immediately search for on the schedule.

The date this year is today, Thursday, Jan. 20, in Raleigh at Reynolds Coliseum.

Under head coach Jeff Walz, the Cardinals have been to the Final Four twice and the Elite Eight three more times. His team this year has won 15 straight after dropping its season opener, including winning all five of its ACC contests.

NC State women’s basketball has held up its end of the bargain. The Pack is 16-2 overall and 7-0 in the ACC.

Thus, Louisville comes into Reynolds ranked No. 3 nationally, while NC State is No. 4. So marquee is this showdown that ESPN will televise it nationally at 7:30 p.m.

“You knew it’s going to be a big game, and sure enough, here we are,” Moore noted. “It’s exciting for the players. This is why you do all that work in the offseason and in the summer, to put yourself in a position to play on the big stage in these big games.

“We’re all excited about the opportunity.”

Last season, NC State went on the road and defeated Louisville when the Cards were ranked No. 1, and then the Pack also won the rematch on a last-second shot in the ACC Championship.

Moore expects a fired up Louisville squad at Reynolds.

“Obviously, Louisville is really hot now. They’ve won 15 straight, so they come in here with a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence,” Moore said. “We were able to go there and beat them at their place last year, so I know they’re going to come in here and try to quiet the crowd a little bit. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.”

Moore has a veteran squad that has won back-to-back ACC titles, and he acknowledged at times this year his team has not played with the same urgency and energy as it did when it routed in-state ranked rivals Duke and North Carolina at home.

The former was a 24-point home win for NC State in Reynolds Sunday afternoon.

“I thought we had it Sunday against Duke, and hopefully that’s going to carry over,” Moore noted. “I know you don’t have to say a lot about getting them up for this game.

“I think they’ll be excited and have a lot of energy,. I would like to see us be a little more consistent with that, but we’ve been able to survive and keep moving forward.”

Where Louisville has excelled this season is on defense. It is giving up an average of just 49.4 points per contest, second lowest in the ACC. The Cards are third in the conference in field goal percentage defense (34.6 percent) and second in three-point percentage allowed (25.8 percent).

They are also tops in the ACC in steals (10.7) and turnovers forced (21.5) per game.

“They put a lot of pressure on you,” Moore noted. “They get in the passing lanes. They pressure the ball. Jeff does a good job of mixing things up, so they may switch.

“They may trap. They’re going to press. A lot of times it’s man to man, and they’ll pick you up full court, but they’ll also do a full-court zone press where you have to make some decisions and read the defense.” 

Trying to deal with Louisville’s multitude of pressure defenses and the emotions of a high profile, nationally broadcast game can be stressful, but Moore prefers it that way.

“You’d rather it be that than irrelevant,” Moore said. “From that standpoint, we’re excited and very blessed.”

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