Beyond the Boxscore: State 73, Notre Dame 68

Factors that led to the Wolfpack's victory that might not have stood out on the stat sheet

Markell Johnson's career-high 27 points, along with D.J. Funderburk's offensive rebounding and energy were the most visible keys to NC State's come-from-behind 73-68 basketball victory against Notre Dame on Wednesday.

Here are some of the other factors that helped the Wolfpack rally from a 12-point second half deficit to a badly needed ACC win at PNC Arena:

Devon's defense

Notre Dame began the night leading the ACC in 3-point baskets per game at 10.29 and was coming off a performance at Syracuse last Saturday in which it made 16 from long distance.

The Irish was well on its way to matching its season average after going 5 of 7 from beyond the arc in the first half, with sophomore Prentiss Hubb making all but one of the treys. But everything changed over the final 20 minutes thanks to a timely defensive switch made by State coach Kevin Keatts.

“We didn't anticipate that Hubb was going to go off that much and he did a great job," Keatts said afterward. "So we made an adjustment and we took Braxton Beverly off of him and put Devon Daniels, who's probably not going to get a lot of credit for the win because he didn't score a lot. But he did a tremendous job in that area."

Daniels, at 6-foot-5, is five inches taller than Beverly and his greater length and athleticism made it much more difficult for Hubb to get open looks from the perimeter. He missed his only two 3-point attempts after the switch. D.J. Funderburk's improved defensive awareness at the power forward position also contributed to Notre Dame going just 1 of 11 from distance as a team after halftime. 

Also of note defensively, State forced Notre Dame into 14 turnovers with 11 assists. The Irish came into the game averaging only nine turnovers and is the nation's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Two bigs, too big for Irish

C.J. Bryce's absence over the past three games has been a hardship for the Wolfpack, but it could potentially have a positive side in that it has forced Keatts into using big men D.J. Funderburk and Manny Bates at the same time more than usual.

The alignment has Bates playing center (or the five) while Funderburk slides over to power forward (the four). 

While Keatts said that Funderburk still has some kinks to work out defensively at the four, the benefits of them being on the court at the same time were on full display down the stretch on Wednesday.

With more opportunities to create his own offense facing the basket, the 6-10 junior ignited the Wolfpack's second half comeback by scoring 12 of his 16 points during the period. He also took advantage of the attention Notre Dame had to pay to 6-11 teammate Bates to grab all nine of his rebounds -- five of which came on the offensive end.

As for Bates, his presence helped create the space Johnson used to get to the rim for several key baskets late in the game, as well as the play that led to the senior point guard's clinching free throws.

 "They’re playing great together because D.J. is starting to learn the four a little bit," Keatts said. "Early on he struggled with anytime we would switch a screen. He still has the mentality to run into the paint, so he wasn't guarding the 3-point line. But those guys long. They’re athletic. They do a tremendous job. They block shots and DJ was great, He did a great job with keeping a lot of possessions live for us and more importantly, I think he made four free throws in the stretch."

Small, but important contribution

Danny Dixon has seen only minor action this season, in part because of a foot injury that had limited him to five games over the first two months of the season. He still didn't play a major role on Wednesday, but his season-high 7-minute, 45-second appearance against the Irish was important to the cause nonetheless.

The graduate transfer big man ate up valuable time that helped keep Funderburk from getting into deeper foul trouble after he picked up his third less than two minutes into the second half. 

And he didn't just take up space.

Dixon pulled down three rebounds and was credited with two assists while helping the Wolfpack to a plus-four scoring margin while he was on the court. His continued contribution, regardless of how small, can only help the shorthanded Wolfpack -- even after Bryce returns to the rotation -- as the season goes on.