North Carolina State University Athletics
Red Hot Georgia Tech Visits NC State
1/15/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tony Haynes
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Momentum can be a fleeting thing - at least that's what NC State will be trying to convince itself when Georgia Tech rambles into the Entertainment and Sports Arena for an 8 p.m. tip-off tonight. Simply put: The Yellow Jackets are hot, and the Pack's not.Tech (10-5, 2-2) is coming off back-to-back ACC wins over a pair of nationally ranked opponents. The Yellow Jackets proved last Tuesday's victory at Virginia was no fluke by coming right back and beating a strong Wake Forest team over the weekend.
NC State (8-6, 0-3), meanwhile, is desperately searching for its first conference win. Close losses to Virginia, Duke and Clemson have sent frustration levels in Raleigh off the charts.
"I say to myself that maybe with a basket here or a call there or a rebound there, things might be different right now," said Pack guard Anthony Grundy, who made just six of 27 shots in a 72-69 loss at Clemson over the weekend. "We've just got to keep the enthusiasm and intensity up and hope that things come together. It's not the big things that are killing us right now, it's the little things."
Effort and intensity certainly haven't been a problem for the Pack. In all three of its conference losses, NC State played hard enough to win, but not quite well enough to win. At Virginia, second half foul trouble was the culprit; against Duke, the Wolfpack simply couldn't completely overcome a 19-point deficit; down at Clemson, poor shooting from the perimeter (29 percent overall) was the difference.
One constant through this losing streak has been turnovers. During its conference skid, the Wolfpack has averaged 18 turnovers per game.
Another more subtle but significant statistic shows that NC State's three ACC opponents have shot a total of 101 free throws. And to make matters worse, 78 percent of those shots have gone in.
"That's one of those little things we could change," Grundy said. "If we can stop fouling and getting teams in the bonus so early, that would eliminate dozens of points that we're giving up. Once you're at the free throw line, that's exactly what it is, free."
Under first year coach Paul Hewitt, Georgia Tech's returning players have flourished in a system that allows them to press and fire up a lot of three-point shots. As a team, the Jackets are hitting 40 percent from the arc. Pretty remarkable considering that 38 percent of their field goal attempts this season have come from three-point range.
The sharpest Tech sharpshooter is senior guard Shaun Fein, who is averaging 15.7 points per game. Against ACC opponents, Fein has converted on 47.8 percent of his three-point attempts.
Center Alvin Jones (13.9 ppg, 9.4 rb), guard Tony Akins (13.5) and freshman forward Marvin Lewis (10.8) are also averaging double figures.
Halston Lane, a 6-4 freshman, has given the Jackets some extra firepower off the bench. Lane was 7-of-10 from the floor and made 4-of-5 three-pointers in a 21-point performance against Wake Forest.
"I look at [NC State's] record, and I know how we felt going into the Virginia game," Hewitt said. "I'm sure they're having a similar feeling right now. Herb and his staff do a great job, and they have good players. They'll come out ready to play, and there probably is an added incentive that they want to put one in the win column. We need to be careful. They'll have a great crowd behind them. We need to be sure and run hard and run smart. We can't make unforced errors that lead to easy baskets."
NC State has won six of its last seven games against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets snapped a six game losing streak to the Wolfpack with a 66-63 victory last February in Atlanta. The last six games have been decided by eight points or less. NC State leads the all-time series 39-28.
