TRI-PARTISAN: NC State Can't Stop Fouling And It Is Now A Critical Issue

Each week I submit a Tri-Partisan column to WRALSportsFan.com, and here is this week's feature where I take a look at how NC State’s propensity to foul led to a bad, bad loss at Wake Forest.

WRALSportsFan: NC State Can't Stop Fouling And It Is Now A Critical Issue

NC State suffered the first “bad” loss of the season Tuesday night, and bad could be an understatement.

The Deacs were 7-8 on the season with home losses to Gardner-Webb and Houston Baptist. Wake had lost their first three ACC games, all by double-digits.

Wake Forest is really bad.

Granted, NC State was playing without starting point guard Markell Johnson -- who sets the tone offensively and defensively for the Wolfpack -- but really that's no excuse. There were enough pieces left in the rotation to not lose in Winston-Salem.

So how did NC State come up short? Fouling has become a critical problem for this team, and Wake simply won at the free throw line.

People are going to over-analyze it and talk about the Wolfpack's recent struggles in Winston-Salem, but that's not it. Neither team shot well from the field or from three-point range. The rebounding numbers were close, and the assist totals were identical.

NC State even attempted 21 more shots from the field, a stat that if you had told Kevin Keatts before the game his team would total he'd certainly believe the Wolfpack would leave with the win.

The single outlier was at the free throw line. NC State committed 22 fouls to 14 for Wake Forest, but Wake Forest attempted 28 free throws to just nine for the Wolfpack. While NC State did shoot 77.8% from the line (7-of-9), Wake was even better while attempting 19 more, shooting 82.1% (23-of-28).

Wake outscored NC State by 16 points at the free throw line. In a four-point game, that +16 advantage is huge. READ FULL STORY HERE: LINK