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Round of 32 NCAA Tournament Preview: No. 4 NC State vs. No. 5 Maryland

By Ben Dull

INDIANAPOLIS , IN - MARCH 3: Maryland Terrapins guard Kaila Charles (5) shoots under pressure against Nebraska during Big Ten women's basketball tournament action. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS , IN - MARCH 3: Maryland Terrapins guard Kaila Charles (5) shoots under pressure against Nebraska during Big Ten women's basketball tournament action. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /
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NC State, the No. 4 seed in the Kansas City Region, outscored Elon in every quarter of their opening round matchup. The Wolfpack held Elon to 23.5% shooting, and will hope to have similar success Sunday against No. 5 seed Maryland. Kaila Charles led the way for the Terrapins with 20 points and five rebounds.

NC State won Friday with a balanced scoring attack while also forcing 17 Elon turnovers. The Wolfpack defense has held opponents to 82.2 points per 100 possessions this season, 27th in the country. The Maryland defense isn’t far behind, allowing just 87.2 points per 100.

Chelsea Nelson is NC State’s leading scorer at 13.2 points per game. Aislinn Konig is their top three-point shooter (34.5% on 255 attempts).

Eleanna Christinaki’s shot was falling on Friday for Maryland. She finished with 16 points. Christinaki put herself in the right spots to score by spacing the floor, running hard in transition and even hitting the offensive glass:

Charles, meanwhile, had little trouble getting all the way to the rim:

With the help of HerHoopStats, here’s a look at the Four Factors (defined in their glossary) for each team:

The battle on the boards will be fascinating in this matchup. NC State has been one of the steadiest in the country in keeping opponents off the offensive glass. Maryland, however, boasts the 11th highest offensive rebounding rate in the country. Kaila Charles and Stephanie Jones average 3+ offensive boards per game for the Terps. Chelsea Nelson is the leading rebounder for the Wolfpack at 9.7 per game.

NC State’s free throw rate of 36.9% is the 20th best in the country. Nelson, Akela Maize and Kaila Ealey each average 4+ free throw attempts per game.

Both teams knocked down seven three-pointers in their opening round games. Maryland is shooting 39.1% from deep this season (7th in the nation) but they are deliberate in choosing when to shoot them. Their three-point rate is quite low (25.3%). NC State takes about a third of their shots from deep, but shoots just 30.8% on those attempts.

Related Story: Breaking down the Kansas City Region

Just one game stands between these two teams and a trip to Kansas City, where they’ll meet either No. 9 seed Oklahoma State or No. 1 seed Mississippi State in the Sweet 16.

Stats obtained via HerHoopStats. 

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