3. Contain the Penn State guards
The Nittany Lions have a young group of guards but they are quite a tandem in the starting rotation. Freshmen guards Myles Dread and Rasir Bolton are two players that have emerged into promising roles for Penn State this season. NC State will need to do their best to slow this tandem down, especially from 3-point range.
Bolton was recently inserted in the starting rotation on Dec. 4 against the Indiana Hoosiers. He put up 17 points in his first start, though it came in a 64-62 loss. In his second start on Dec. 8, he posted 27 points on 7-of-9 shooting from behind the arc in a 76-65 victory over the Colgate Raiders.
Dread is producing 8.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game through nine starts so far. There’s more to the starting rotation than the freshmen, but the Wolfpack would be wise to limit open shots from Dread and Bolton.
Myreon Jones is another player with the potential to fill it up. He scored 18 points in Penn State’s upset victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies back on Dec. 4. Senior Josh Reaves is another player to look out for at the guard position. He’s averaging 10.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.9 steals per game.
There’s depth in the backcourt on both teams and it should be on display in this game. Whoever has the best guard play is sure to win in the end.