Michael O'Connell the glue to NC State basketball's appearance in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

DALLAS — Lacrosse and basketball are pretty interchangeable, according to Michael O'Connell.

A former lacrosse player himself, O'Connell knows the similarities rather well. In a previous life, he committed to Maryland for the sport with the stick, helmets and a much smaller ball. Aside from that, and playing outside rather than in 20,000-seat arenas like the American Airlines Center, O'Connell said the two sports are almost identical.

O'Connell, though, gave up lacrosse to pursue his basketball ambitions, a decision he doesn't reflect upon negatively.

"I definitely miss it," the NC State basketball graduate senior said Thursday, "but I'm in the Sweet 16 right now. March Madness. It's kind of hard to look back on and regret anything in my decision. I'm definitely enjoying where I'm at."

Not only does O'Connell not regret sticking to the hardwood, it's his recent play that has been a big part of the 11-seed Wolfpack's run to Friday's South Region semifinal clash with 2-seed Marquette. Since the beginning of the postseason, which includes NC State's five-wins-in-five-days run through the ACC Tournament, O'Connell has had the best scoring stretch of his collegiate career.

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Over the past seven games, O'Connell — who averages 5.7 points for the season — has averaged 9.7 points per contest for the Wolfpack. That average is skewed from his overall impact thanks to a zero-point showing in the first round NCAA Tournament win over Texas Tech. In each of the other six games, the Mineola, New York, native has scored 12 points three times, 16 points in two other and 10 in another.

Put another way, 31% of O'Connell's total points during the 2023-24 season have come in the postseason. Before this run, he had just three games scoring in double figures. And the five-straight games with 10 points or more in the ACC Tournament were the longest stretch of his collegiate career, including his time at Stanford.

"Ever since the tournament started I've seen a different version of him," DJ Horne said. "Call him Tournament Mike. He's been the glue for us whenever anything starts to fall apart maybe a little bit or things may go downhill a little bit. He's always right there lifting everybody up. You need somebody like that, especially at the point guard position."

O'Connell has started the last 18 games for NC State after starting once in the first 19 contests. He doesn't attribute his recent scoring outburst to anything specific, just the nature of opportunities that happen to come when the lights are the brightest.

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The spotlight will be magnified as long as the Wolfpack remain alive in the NCAA Tournament. To keep their postseason pulse beyond Friday, they'll have to get by a Marquette team that features one of the top point guards in the nation in Tyler Kolek. O'Connell looks forward to matching up with the Golden Eagles' leading man.

"I think he really plays his own pace," O'Connell said of Kolek. "He doesn't let anyone speed him up. He doesn't let anyone pressure him and make dumb decisions."

Much like in lacrosse, O'Connell said NC State will have to rely on team defense to handle Kolek, just as the team has banded together through its postseason run. It's one of O'Connell's favorite aspects of team's last two weeks together.

"I'm just proud of how these guys have been competing and (keeping their) composure on the floor when things aren't going well. It's been great, but hopefully we can keep it going."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: O'Connell the glue to NC State basketball's appearance in Sweet 16