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NC State's improved ball movement leads to efficient scoring night vs. Pitt

On3 imageby:Ethan McDowell•01/16/25•

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Saniya Rivers-2
N.C State's Saniya Rivers (22) reacts after scoring against North Carolina during the second half. The N.C. State Wolfpack and the North Carolina Tar Heels met in a regular-season game in Raleigh, N.C., on Feb. 1, 2024.

NC State ranks No. 16 out of 18 ACC teams in assists per game. The Wolfpack sets up 13.6 buckets per game, a recurring issue that head coach Wes Moore has mentioned after a few games this season. 

In the program’s 83-67 win over Pittsburgh, the team finished with 20 assists and 10 turnovers. It was the Wolfpack’s fifteenth home win in a row. NC State has the eighth-best assist/turnover ratio in the conference, but the program took a significant step forward with that against the Panthers. 

The Wolfpack finished above its season average with at least 15 assists in each of its past 6 games, including 5 ACC contests. 

“Part of it’s reversing, swinging the ball, get some ball movement,” Moore said after the game. “Part of it is just breaking down the D and kicking, forcing help. So again, we’re doing a better job of that.”

NC State shot 48.2 percent Thursday and 52.0 percent from three. Pittsburgh tried to disrupt the Wolfpack with traps, a full-court press and zone, but the hosts kept the ball pinging around Kay Yow Court, leading to easy looks for Aziaha James, who scored a team-best 22 points, and others. 

Stanford shut down driving lanes during an 81-67 loss to NC State Sunday. The Wolfpack responded with 10 made threes and 17 assists. NC State continued to improve on that effort Thursday with 13 triples to go along with the assist total. 

“We drive really well, we go in transition really well, so they were trying to pack the paint a lot,” Graduate guard Madison Hayes said. “Having that one more pass and being ready to shoot it is a big thing.”

Saniya Rivers led the ball movement effort against the Panthers. The senior guard dished out a season-high 7 assists against Pitt against 2 turnovers. This was her first game with more than 4 dimes this year after surpassing that total 14 times as a junior. 

The veteran Wolfpack guard leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 and blocks per game with 1.2. She’s the team’s third-leading scorer as well. Moore wants to see Rivers stuff the box score every night. When she does so, the All-ACC standout looks like a future pro, Moore explained. 

“She’s been doing a much better job of filling up a stat sheet, and I think that’s what you have to do if you want to play at the next level,” Moore said. “And I think what she’s done in the last few weeks is, and I told her this, this is what I envisioned her being.”

Each of NC State’s four starting guards finished with at least 3 assists Thursday, and only one of them recorded more than 2 turnovers. The Wolfpack’s offense now ranks eighth in the ACC at 75.0 points per game, and Moore sees the positive trend. 

“Our guards did a much better job than we were doing earlier in the year, so that’s a good sign,” Moore said. 

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