North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Hopes 'Six' will be its Lucky Number
3/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Over the years, teams seeded sixth have faired well in the ACC Basketball Tournament. In fact, some of the most memorable tourney upsets have been recorded by No. six seeds. Virginia (1976), NC State ('87) and Georgia Tech ('93) all proved that winning the championship as a No. six seed isn't all that far fetched.
Will history repeat itself in the 47th annual ACC Tournament this weekend in Charlotte? NC State's sixth seeded Wolfpack hopes so.
"I think if you ask some of the teams around the league about NC State, I think they'll tell you that we're no run of the mill team," said Wolfpack guard Archie Miller. "We finished sixth because we didn't do some of the things during the year that we should have. But if Maryland or Virginia look at us, they don't see an average team. Any team we play we can beat, and we have to take that attitude."
Virginia, which drew NC State as its opening round opponent on Friday night, would probably agree with that assessment. Though the Cavaliers are the No. 3 seed, they didn't appear to be overly superior to the Wolfpack when the two clubs met during the regular season.
In Raleigh on January 12, NC State edged UVA 65-62. Had it not been for the Pack's anemic free throw shooting (10-of-27), the game wouldn't have been that close. In the second meeting in Charlottesville, a 15-6 Virginia run at the outset of the second half helped the Cavaliers pull out an 88-82 win.
While not a huge team, NC State should have a size advantage inside against the small, but quick Cavaliers. And that superiority should be enhanced even more by the return of Ron Kelley, who missed the game in Charlottesville with a knee injury.
"I think our size inside will be an advantage," said Pack freshman Damien Wilkins. "How we attack them in the paint will be a key to the outcome of the game. We're definitely concerned with their quickness and their ability to get the ball up the floor as fast as they do. I don't know if we want to get in a running game with them because that is what has brought them the success that they've had."
In game two this year, Kenny Inge muscled his way to a season high 25-points against the Cavaliers.
Handling Virginia's relentless, trapping defensive pressure will be among the Wolfpack's top priorities on Friday night. UVA's chaotic defensive tactics are designed to push the tempo and force turnovers. When they are successful in imposing their will on teams, the Cavaliers are tough to beat.
"Either their pressure is going to cause you to turn the ball over and they're going to get easy baskets or you're going to attack them and you're going to get easy baskets." Miller said. "When we get the two-on-ones and we get guys where they're supposed to be in the press offense, it comes down to making a layup or getting a foul on their guys."
For what it's worth, NC State's all-time record against Virginia in the ACC Tournament is 9-2, which is the Wolfpack's best winning percentage vs. any league school. Amazingly, this will mark the first time the Pack and Cavaliers have squared off in the tournament since 1986. UVA defeated NC State 64-62 in the quarterfinals that year.
In four years under coach Herb Sendek, the Wolfpack is 5-3 in ACC Tournament play. Three of those wins came in Sendek's first year when, as a No. 8 seed, the Pack made it all the way to the Championship game before falling to North Carolina.
