Maryland-NC State preview: Can Terps pick up an ACC road win in their last trip to Raleigh?

The game, Maryland's last against the Pack as a member of the ACC, will tip-off Monday, January 20 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Players to watch

T.J. Warren - So., 6'8", 215 lbs, forward

Warren is by far State's most productive player, averaging 22.2 ppg, along with 7.3 rpg. But he also takes a lot of shots to get those points, ranking 11th nationally in terms of percentage of shots taken. He's currently taking 35.7% of NC State's shots. His effective field goal percentage isn't that bad, ranking 469th nationally according to Kenpom. He's also pretty effective at drawing fouls. Add all of that up and Maryland's front court could have some issues on Monday.

Anthony Barber - Fr, 6'2", 170 lbs, guard

Barber has made a solid contribution to State's team as a freshman, putting up the second most points per game on the team with 11.5. He's also averaging 4.2 apg and 2.6 rpg. His assist rate ranks 167th nationally. He doesn't take too many 3-point shots and when he does, he's only hitting them at a .267% clip. He's also a solid free throw shooter, knocking down 71.3% of this shots from the charity stripe.

Desmond Lee - Jr, 6'4", 200 lbs, guard

Lee is a solid contributor who isn't particularly spectacular at one aspect of his game. He's the only other State player averaging in double figures with 10.2 ppg and also pulls down 3.7 rpg. He's one of the team's best free throw shooters at 71.8% and is decent at drawing fouls.

Ralston Turner - Jr, 6'5", 205 lbs, guard

Turner is State's fourth leading scorer, averaging 9.3 ppg and pulls down 2.5 rpg. He's by far NC State's best 3-point shooter, hitting 41% of his long range attempts.

Jordan Vanderberg - Sr, 7'1", 245 lbs, center

For being 7'1", Vanderberg isn't as dominant as you'd expect from a senior center. He's averaging just 6.3 ppg and 5.4 rpg but is extremely efficient when he does get the ball. He leads the Wolfpack in Offensive Rating, ranking 29th nationally in that category. But his biggest strength might be his ability to block shots, where he's rejecting 2.2 per game this season.

Strengths

As a team, State does a lot of things okay, but doesn't do one thing particularly well. Their biggest strength might be that they don't turn the ball over too much. They're also very effective at protecting the rim, ranking 54th nationally in terms of percentage of shots blocked. Their two-point shooting percentage is pretty decent, as they're making 51.6% of those shot attempts.

Weaknesses

Fortunately for Maryland, State is a dreadful three point shooting team, ranking 323rd nationally in 3-point shooting percentage. They also don't force many steals and give up a lot of offensive rebounds. All of these weaknesses should be favorable for Maryland, allowing the Terps to have success in their last game against the Pack.

Prediction

KenPom prediction: Kenpom is predicting a very narrow NC State win, 74-72.

Our prediction: Maryland has certainly been a split personality team this season, but more recently they've done well against teams they should do well against. The Terps have been really hurt by their 3-point defense, but that shouldn't be an issue for an NC State team that is one of the worst three point shooting teams in the nation. While Maryland has had issues with turnovers, State doesn't force too many, so if Maryland can not beat themselves, they should have a decent opportunity to get an allusive ACC road win. Terps win the final Yow game, escaping Raleigh with a 72-68 victory.