2. Win the defensive battle
The Nittany Lions are a team that’s allowing just 64.4 points per game while the Wolfpack are allowing 62.0 points per game. Both defenses will definitely look to stifle each other in the early going but the NC State offense is a unit producing 88.9 points per game.
Forward Lamar Stevens is a threat to go off just like the freshmen guards mentioned above. He’s producing 20.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game this season for the Nittany Lions. He’s the leader of this group and if the Wolfpack can slow him down, then things could come rather easy for them in the results column.
Penn State has already pulled off one upset this season, defeating the Virginia Tech Hokies, 63-62, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In that one, freshman guard Myreon Jones put up 18 points off the bench. Since then, the Nittany Lions have lost two of their last three games. Stopping them may not come easy but NC State should be up for the task, given their depth.