North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Welcomes UNC-Greensboro to ESA
12/5/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
For the second time this season, NC State will host another one of its sister institutions from the University of North Carolina system when it faces off against UNC-Greensboro this evening. Tip time at the Entertainment and Sports Arena is 7:30.
In its first meeting with another in-state school earlier this season, the Wolfpack didn't fare to well. Back on November 18th, a revved up squad from Charlotte (formerly UNC-Charlotte) ripped NC State in the championship game of the CoSida Classic, 95-78.
On that night, the 49rs played with a chip on their shoulder. UNCG will likely do the same. The Spartans may be 'Greensboro's team,' but it's rare when they get more coverage in their local papers and TV sportscasts than either NC State or North Carolina.
"It's the kind of team that you're going to have to play in the first round of an NCAA Tournament type game," said Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek. "They're a team that could easily win their league. They're very solid and fundamentally sound. I think we've really got to be ready to play."
UNC-Greensboro, coached by Fran McCaffery, is off to a 2-3 start this season. Junior forward David Schuck leads the Spartans in both points (16.4) and rebounds (8.5). On the perimeter, 5-9 junior Courtney Eldridge has been on fire, scoring a total of 55 points in his last two games. Eldridge went off for a career high 30 in UNCG's 79-73 victory at St. Peter's over the weekend.
Following a slow start, the Wolfpack (4-2) has rebounded to win its last three games, including an 87-78 victory at Old Dominion on Saturday night.
With forward Damien Wilkins sidelined by a sprained ankle, NC State has been getting a tremendous amount of production from guards Cliff Crawford, Archie Miller and Anthony Grundy. Miller, a junior tri-captain, is coming off a career high 22-point performance at ODU.
Wilkins, who turned his ankle during a November 24th practice, was able to participate in about half of Monday's workout at Reynolds Coliseum.
"We're just going to see how he feels before the game," Sendek said. "He's made great progress. He looked pretty good [on Monday] for the first time being back. We just want to make sure when he comes back that he's in a position to be successful."
Wilkins was averaging 10.0 points and 6.3 rebounds before he went down.
