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NC State’s bench appears to be a clear weakness in the OT loss to Louisville: reserves played only 32 of the team’s 225 minutes and scored just 5 points (6.3% of team scoring), producing roughly 6.3 points per 40 minutes. That extreme reliance on starters (193 minutes) raises concerns about the fatigue NC State obviously had late in the game. Concerns that might manifest in future games such as limited situational lineup flexibility, and vulnerability when starters need rest or are in foul trouble. The lack of scoring and minutes from role players also suggests depth issues — opposing benches can exploit mismatches, provide energy, and change momentum while NC State has few reliable scoring options off the bench. Let’s look at bench production the between the two teams

NC State

Game length: 45:00 (OT). Team minutes = 225.
Starters: Pierre (42), Jones (39), Brooks (35), Samuels (35), Trygger (42)
Starters minutes = 193
Starters points = 26 + 20 + 19 + 7 + 3 = 75
Bench: Cox (6), Lunan (26)
Bench minutes = 32
Bench points = 3 + 2 = 5
Bench points per 40 min = (5 / 32) * 40 = 6.3 pts/40
Bench % of team scoring = 5 / 80 = 6.3%

Louisville

Starters: Randolph (30:59), Hardy (15:19), Ziegler (22:26), Istanbulluoglu (35:12), Roberts (26:20)
Starters minutes ≈ 130.27
Starters points = 12 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 4 = 31
Bench: Berry (36:41), Jones (27:52), Scott (30:11)
Bench minutes ≈ 94.73
Bench points = 33 + 17 + 7 = 57
Bench points per 40 min = (57 / 94.73) * 40 ≈ 24.1 pts/40
Bench % of team scoring = 57 / 88 = 64.8%
Key differences / takeaways

Minutes: NC State relied almost entirely on starters (193 of 225 min); Louisville split minutes much more evenly (starters ~130, bench ~95).
Scoring: Louisville bench was extremely productive (57 points, ~24.1 pts/40), while NC State bench scored only 5 points (6.3 pts/40).
Impact: Louisville’s reserves supplied the majority of their scoring (64.8%); NC State’s reserves contributed just 6.3%. The disparity in bench minutes and scoring is the decisive contrast between the teams.

From the production standpoint, I will say it’s hard to contribute points if you are not on the floor.