The third game of four in Friday’s Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout will be a battle between the NC State Wolfpack and the Richmond Spiders.
Game time: Friday, December 17, 6:30 p.m. ET
TV schedule: ACC Network
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
To be clear, the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout is not an ACC – Atlantic 10 challenge. Although it may feel like it, at least in two of the four games. The 4:00 game will be Virginia Tech vs St. Bonaventure, and NC State vs Richmond will follow. And while the ACC and A-10 can’t exactly match up top-to-bottom, these two contests should provide plenty of excitement. Let’s dive deeper into the Wolfpack and Spiders.
The Pack will bring a 7-3 record into Friday evening, including an 0-1 mark in ACC play. They’re fresh off a heartbreaking loss to #1 Purdue in overtime, but they do have a wild 104-100 4-OT win over Nebraska under their belt. Their other losses have come to Louisville and Oklahoma State, so they haven’t really fared well against top competition at this point. It’s also worth noting that with this game being played in Charlotte, NC State should have a semi-home court advantage, provided their fans are willing to make a two-and-a-half-hour drive.
For the Wolfpack, things start and end with Dereon Seabron. The sophomore wing leads NC State in points (19.7), rebounds (10.5), assists (2.8), and steals (2.2) per game. His name also probably leads the way in mentions on Richmond’s scouting report. But senior Jericole Hellems is also a threat with his 14.7 points per game. The one thing that hasn’t been great for the Pack this season has been their three-point shooting. They’re only connecting on 30.5 percent of their attempts, so they’ll need to get things done in the paint if they want to escape with a ‘W’.
As for Richmond, they’re sitting at 6-4 on the year, which doesn’t look great on paper. But their four losses — Utah State, Drake, Maryland, and Mississippi State — are all solid teams. What’s missing is a signature non-conference victory. Friday’s game will be their last chance at it and could give them some momentum heading into A-10 play.
The Spiders bring a two-headed attack into the Old North State, with forwards Tyler Burton (18.4 points per game) and Grant Golden (15.5) capable of going off on any given night. Those two are also threats from deep as well, with each guy topping 40 percent from three so far this year.
Throw guard Jacob Gilyard (12.0 points, 5.5 assists) into the mix and Richmond can attack in a lot of different ways. Their two weaknesses are on the glass and at the charity stripe, and they’ll need to be stronger in both of those areas to pick up win number seven.
Prediction: Richmond 73 – NC State 63