3) Can Jared Harper continue his phenomenal season?
"“We’ve got Jared Harper and they don’t. That happens a lot of the time against a lot of people. We have him and they don’t.”"
That was the analysis Pearl gave after Auburn’s overtime win over UAB, a game in which Harper finished with 31 points (including 23 of the team’s last 30). Harper was also the difference in Auburn’s first overtime win of the year, an 88-79 win over Xavier in Maui, with 25 points and eight assists.
Those kinds of performances have become the norm for the junior point guard, who has quietly emerged as one of the best point guards in the country. He dropped 20 and dished out seven assists in their win over Dayton, had 22 and six against Duke, and had a double-double (20 points, 13 assists) to start the season.
NC State also has a quality point guard in Markell Johnson and uses the kind of pressure that routinely bothers opposing ball handlers.
If Harper plays well again, he’ll further solidify his place as one of the best players in the country and will likely enter the early National Player of the Year conversation.