North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Looks for First ACC Victory Against Clemson
1/12/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Moments after NC State dropped to 0-2 in ACC play with a six-point loss to No. 2 Duke on Wednesday night, the dreaded words "must win" started circulating throughout Wolfpack land. The Pack (8-5, 0-2), some claim, will not reach its goal of making the NCAA Tournament if it doesn't win at Clemson on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Imagine how Clemson (9-6, 0-2) must feel? The Tigers, who have been off since absorbing a 115-74 lashing at Duke last Sunday, are also 0-2 in league play.
An 0-3 start in the ACC certainly isn't the most desirable way to go, but both the Tigers and Wolfpack can take some solace in knowing that such a start wouldn't necessarily send their respective seasons down the drain. Last year's Maryland team, for instance, came back to finish second in the final league standings after losing its first three conference games. And just three years ago, a North Carolina club that opened with an 0-3 mark ended up in the Final Four.
But the Terrapin and Tar Heel turnarounds are more the exception than the rule.
The Bottom line: both NC State and Clemson need wins badly on Saturday.
"I think our guys firmly believe that we're a good basketball team," said Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek. "We recognize that we have to improve and get better at some things, but I don't think our guys consider themselves anything other than a good team."
Said Tigers coach Larry Shyatt: "It is a long season. What a story Maryland could have been a year ago when they were 0-3. Fortunately for [coach Gary Williams], they had a fabulous run. It is a big game, but each game is."
Last season, two of Clemson's four conference wins came at the expense of NC State. Following the second game in Raleigh, Tigers coach Larry Shyatt said his club's best two performances came against the Pack. Clemson also had a plentiful supply of something NC State didn't have: size.
While not as big this season, the Tigers are more talented and athletic, a combination that has allowed them to get out and run more. Gone is the half-court, physical, teeth grinding style that marked Clemson's play a year ago. After averaging 64.4 points per game 1999-2000, the Tigers are putting up nearly 80 points per contest this season.
Leading the way is one of the nation's leading scorers, Will Solomon. The 6-1 junior, who is averaging 21.4 points per game, has the ability to get his shot off against just about anyone.
"Obviously, Will Solomon is one of the best players in the conference," Sendek said. "He's one of those guys that, on a given night, can single-handedly put a team on his back and take them where they want to go. He's capable of not only getting 20 or 30, he's proven in the past that he can get 40 on a given night."
Also giving Clemson production in the backcourt has been Tony Stockman, a freshman who is averaging 13.3 points per game. The 6-1 Stockman is particularly lethal from the three-point arc where he's hit 38-of-98 (39 percent) attempts.
Both NC State and Clemson have some injury problems. The Pack will be playing without junior point guard Archie Miller, who leads the nation in three-point accuracy. Miller is being listed as day-to-day with a hairline fracture in his lower left leg.
"We're going to somehow have to make up for Archie's absence," said Sendek. "Archie was having a great year, not a good year. He was leading the nation in three-point shooting at over 60 percent. He had a good assist-to-turnover ratio. Losing him will require that everyone must kick it up another level because he was playing great basketball."
In Miller's absence, sophomore Cliff Crawford will get the lion's share of minutes at the point guard position with Anthony Grundy helping out.
Listed as questionable for Clemson is 7-1 center Adam Allenspach who continues to recover from off-season back surgery to repair a bulging disk.
