North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes: Wake Forest vs. NC State
1/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2002
No. 19 WAKE FOREST (14-6, 4-3) at NC STATE (16-4, 5-2)
DATE:Wednesday, January 30, 2002 @ Entertainment & Sports Arena (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 7:00 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: ESPN2 (National)
OPPONENT--Josh Howard and Darius Songaila led Wake Forest to an 87-74 win at home Saturday over Georgia Tech. Howard's 20 points and 9 rebounds helped the Deacons ease the pain of some recent disappointments.
Wake Forest (14-6, 4-3 ACC) was coming off consecutive conference losses to Virginia, Duke and Maryland -- all were in the top 10 at the time. However, Songaila scored 11 of his 17 points in the first 20 minutes and the Demon Deacons took a 38-28 lead that they never relinquished. Songaila also had 10 rebounds to record his ninth double-double of the season.
Tony Akins scored 20 points and Clarence Moore added 14 for Georgia Tech (7-13, 0-7), which lost for the fifth time in its last six meetings with Wake Forest. The Deaks used an 8-0 surge to take the lead for good, 23-16, on Taron Downey's 3-pointer 8:38 before halftime. Downey scored 11 of his 14 points after the break.
Tech used a 15-6 run to trim the deficit to 56-52 on Ismail Muhammad's two free throws with 11:40 remaining, but got no closer as Broderick Hicks responded with a 3-pointer 19 seconds later.
Offensively, Wake Forest is 9-0 when scoring more than 80 points. Against ACC opponents, the Deacons are averaging 82.4 points a game while shooting nearly 47 percent from the field. They are in the upper half of the league in almost every statistical category except those dealing with the three-point shot.
Against ACC teams, Wake Forest is 8th in three-point field goal percentage (.391), 7th in three-point field goals made (6.14). Hicks (.391) and Craig Dawson (.359) are the Deacons most effective three-point shooters. When the Deaks miss they usually get second chances. They are an excellent offensive rebounding team (No. 2 vs. ACC) averaging nearly 16 a game. Howard is the league's top offensive rebounder (3.91).
Songaila and Howard are among the ACC's Top-15 in scoring, field goal percentage, rebounding and steals. Hicks is 11th in assists and 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Deacons bench is deep with at least 10 players seeing significant minutes in a minimum of 17 games. Wake's top-eight players have played in every game.
Defensively, Wake Forest is allowing ACC opponents nearly 77 points a game and 45 percent field goal shooting. Opponents have shot well from the arc against the Deaks. WFU is last in three-point field goal percentage defense (.382) vs. the ACC. The Deacons are forcing 17 turnovers per ACC game while averaging 14 themselves.
PROBABLE WAKE FOREST STARTERS
03 Broderick Hicks G 6'1 Sr. 8.3 ppg. 2.1 rpg. 3.1 apg.
42 Craig Dawson G 6'5 Sr. 11.3ppg. 2.5 rpg. 2.6 apg.
25 Darius Songaila C 6'9 Sr. 16.5ppg. 7.8 rpg. 2.8 apg.
05 Josh Howard F 6'6 Jr. 14.1ppg. 8.0 rpg. 2.0 apg.
34 Antwan Scott F 6'8 Sr. 10.7ppg. 5.2 rpg. 1.8 *
TOP RESERVES:
04 Taron Downey G 6'2 Fr. 3.4 ppg. 1.2 rpg. 1.3 apg.
13 Vytas Danelius F 6'8 Fr. 6.4 ppg. 4.0 rpg. 0.6*
33 Steve Lepore G 6'5 Jr. 4.4 ppg. 2.8 rpg. 1.0 apg.
10 Jamaal Levy F 6'9 Fr. 2.8 ppg. 2.4 rpg. 0.5 apg.
31 Ervin Murray G 6'5 Sr. 1.2 ppg. 1.1 rpg. 2.2 apg.
* Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would give the Wolfpack its fifth straight victory (equaling its longest winning streak of the season), seventh in the last eight games and first over Wake Forest in the last five meetings of the series. The Pack would improve its home record this season to 12-3 and its ACC mark to 6-2--the best ACC start for a Wolfpack team since 1989 when the Pack opened 8-2 and won the league's regular season title.
A LOSS--Would break a four-game NC State winning streak, drop the Wolfpack to 16-5 overall, and mark Wake Forest's fifth straight win over NC State in the series. The Deacons would notch their second victory in-a-row overall and second straight at the ESA while the Wolfpack would drop to 11-4 at home and 5-3 in the ACC--equaling the Pack's 2000 ACC start.
BOMBS AWAY--During its four-game winning streak, NC State has combined to shoot an impressive 39-102 from the three-point arc (.382). NC State is shooting .333 from the arc against all opponents this season (156-469). WFU is shooting .319 from the arc.
WHEN SHOTS FALL, SO DO OPPONENTS -- NC State has shot 50 percent or better in six games this season and won all six. In 7 ACC games, the Wolfpack has shot a combined .432 from the field (178-412). NC State is 10-4 when it has shot below 50 percent and is looking for its first 50 percent shooting effort in an ACC game this season. WFU is shooting .469 from the field.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CHARITY --NC State's free throw shooting has really improved this season. The Pack is shooting .736 from the charity stripe (304-413) overall and .704 in ACC games (107-152). Last season, the Pack shot .673 from the line. WFU is shooting .715 from the foul stripe.
ASSISTS UP... TURNOVERS DOWN--In 16 of 20 games this season, NC State has recorded more assists than turnovers. That happened only 8 times last season. In addition, the Pack is averaging only 12.9 turnovers a game (258). Last season, the Wolfpack turned the ball over nearly 17 times a contest. WFU is averaging 16.3 assists and 15.6 turnovers a game.
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE --NC State scored 21 points off 18 Temple turnovers on 1/26 and is forcing an average of 17.6 turnovers a contest (351). The Pack is averaging 18.4 points off turnovers in its seven ACC games (129). WFU is forcing an average of 15.6 turnovers a game overall.
BANGING THE BOARDS --For a team that did not expect rebounding to be a strength, the Wolfpack has held its own in conference play. In 7 ACC games the Pack is trailing slightly on the boards 235-242 but holds a 82-63 edge on the offensive glass. For the season, NC State is holding an average edge vs. opponents of 35-33 on the boards. WFU is outrebounding opponents by an average of 41-36 and is getting nearly 16 offensive rebounds a game vs. ACC opponents.
PINE POINTS-- The Wolfpack's young, but deep bench is averaging 20.5 points a game (409) this season. Freshmen have accounted for more than 40 percent of the team's total minutes played.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- NC State will visit Maryland in an ACC game on Sunday, February 3, 2002. The game will be carried live on the Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network with an airtime of 3:30 p.m. EST.
ARCHIE MILLER-- The senior captain has averaged 15.0 points in his last 2 games on 8-16 shooting from the field. Scored a season high 20-points at UNC on 1/23 on 5 of 9 shooting. Despite a sore left leg, the senior leader continues to help the Pack. In his last 5 games, he's averaged 11.2 points (56), 2.4 assists (12) with only 10 turnovers. To avoid the recurrence of a stress fracture in his left leg, the Wolfpack captain's practice time is extremely limited. After missing 9 games last season with a stress fracture, extra precautions are being taken to enhance the chances of keeping Miller in the line-up for the remainder of the season. Prior to the injury, Miller led the team in minutes and assists per game. He continues to lead in free throw shooting (.811) and is No. 2 in assists (67) and steals (27). He leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 2.68-to-1mark and has only 17 turnovers in his last 15 games. The fifth-year senior is third in the school record book for career three-point field goals made (184). Miller is seventh in career three-point percentage at .424 (184-434).
ANTHONY GRUNDY-- After he was held to 7 points by Duke on 1/13 Grundy has elevated his game to a higher level. In his last four games, Grundy has averaged 21.5 points (86), 6.5 rebounds (26), 4.8 assists (19) and 3.3 steals (13) while shooting .589 from the field (33-56) and .450 from the three-point arc (9-20). In ACC games this season, Grundy is averaging 18.3 points (128), 4.3 assists (30) and 3.6 steals (25). The senior guard had possibly his finest game in a Wolfpack uniform at Syracuse on December 8th when he finished with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals while shooting 10-16 from the field. Currently, he leads the team in scoring (16.0 ppg.), steals (51), minutes (31.4) and is tied for the team lead in rebounding (5.4). The Louisville, Ky., native ranks third in school history with 220 career steals (needs one more to pass Sidney Lowe) and is 7th in career three-pointers made (145).
JULIUS HODGE-- The 2001 McDonalds and Parade High School All-American has given the Pack a b ig boost in his last two games, averaging 11.5 points (23), 4.5 rebounds (9) and 5 assists (10) on 7-14 shooting from the field. He dished out a career-high 7 assists vs. Temple on 1/26. Hodge led the Pack at UVA with a career-high 21 points on 7-8 field goal shooting and recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds vs. Maryland on 12/30. Overall, he's averaging 10.4 points (207) and 4.8 rebounds a game (95) and is shooting .343 (23-67) and is No. 2 in free throw shooting at .778 (56-72). New York's "Mr. Basketball" as a senior and the New York Daily News High School Player of the Year, Hodge averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists during his senior year at St. Raymond's High School in Bronx, NY. Rated as the No. 1 shooting guard in the nation by ESPN.com.
MARCUS MELVIN--The sophomore forward has been in a slump the last five games, averaging 5.0 points (25), 3.4 rebounds (17) while shooting .333 from the field (8-24). The Fayetteville native was the Pack's hero at Houston, winning the game with a desperation three-pointer from the left wing at the buzzer. Melvin led NC State in scoring and rebounding in that game with 18 points and 7 boards. He's tied for the team's rebounding lead (5.4 rpg.) and is averaging 9.6 points a game (191). In his last 13 games, Melvin is shooting .506 from the field (45-89).
JOSH POWELL-- His tip-in of Anthony Grundy's missed shot with :02 to play was the game-winning basket at Clemson on 1/15. After an early ACC adjustment period, Powell has started to gain confidence. In his last 4 ACC games, He's averaged 8.5 points (34) and 4.0 rebounds (16) while shooting .522 from the field (12-23). In his last 13 games, the 6-9 freshman is shooting .623 from the field (48-77). He won his second ACC Rookie of the Week award this season after combining for 32 points and 16 rebounds in victories over Wofford and Syracuse while shooting 15-18 from the field (.833). Powell pulled down a career-high 9 rebounds vs. Syracuse. He scored a career high 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field vs. Wofford on 12/5/01. Powell leads the team in field goal percentage at .577 (75-130). He's also the Pack's leading offensive rebounder (44) and shot blocker (19). Powell was named Metro Atlanta Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club following his senior year at Riverdale High School. He averaged 22.7 points and 13 rebounds in his senior year and is the only player in school history to have his jersey retired.
SCOOTER SHERRILL--The hard working sophomore is the Packs top percentage three-point shooter at .362 overall (17-47) and vs. ACC teams (.556) hitting 10 of his 18 attempts. He came off the bench at Clemson and scored a career high 18 points and equaled a career high 5 assists for his best performance of the season. His three-pointer from the left corner with 1:24 to play was a huge play in the Pack's come-from-behind victory. In his last 4 ACC games, Sherrill has averaged 9.3 points (37)while shooting .565 from the field (13-23) and .692 from the three-point arc (9-13). Did not play at Virginia on 1/5, the first game this season in which he saw no action. Played in 29 contests a year ago as a reserve guard. He's averaging 5.4 points a game (97)this season.
CLIFF CRAWFORD-- The junior guard has elevated his game since the start of the ACC season. In 7 league games (including 4 starts), Crawford is averaging 6.3 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting .548 from the field (17-31). In his best ACC performance of the season, Crawford recorded 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 23 minutes at UVA after starting the game in place of Archie Miller. He also played well in back-to-back games vs. Wofford and Syracuse combining for 17 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. An above average defender, Crawford is tied for No.3 on the team in steals with 20.
ILLIAN EVTIMOV-- This freshman, who has started four straight games, tied his career high with 15 points vs. Temple while playing 24 minutes on 1/26. Another rookie who has stepped up his game against ACC opponents, Evtimov has become the Pack's No.2 three-point shooter in league play at .406 (13-32) He nailed three, three-point field goals at Clemson on 1/15 and finished with 11 points. Followed that with 9 points and a career-high 4 assists vs. Georgia Tech on 1/19. Evtimov enjoyed the best performance of his young Wolfpack career at UVA on 1/5 when he came off the bench to contribute 15 points, including 4 of 7 shooting from the three-point line. He's averaging 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in ACC games. A native of Bulgaria, Evtimov lived in France for most of his life before moving to the United States. He averaged 21.5 points, 14 rebounds and 5.2 assists a game as a senior at Bishop McGuiness High School in Winston-Salem, NC. As a freshman at NC State, Evtimov is averaging 16 minutes a game and 5.7 points a contest (114). He's seen action in every game. He's the brother of former UNC forward Vasco Evtimov who is now playing professionally in Greece.
LEVI WATKINS-- A 2001 Parade High School All-American, Watkins suffered a torn knee ligament (ACL) vs. Maryland on 12/30 and will be lost for the remainder of the season. He scored 5 points in 6 minutes before the injury. Watkins earned his first career start vs. Charleston Southern on 12/19 and played 11 minutes, scoring 2 points. His best performance of the season came vs. UNC-Asheville when he finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds. Watkins averaged 23.2 points and 11.2 rebounds a game during his senior year at Montrose Christian in Rockville, MD.
JORDAN COLLINS-- The 6-10 freshman played the best ACC game of his career at UNC on 1/23 when he notched a career-high 8 points, pulled down 2 rebounds and dished out 2 assists in 21 minutes. Since the start of ACC play, Collins has earned more playing time lately. He's averaged 11.4 minutes in 7 ACC games. Collins had 7 points and 2 rebounds vs. UNC-Asheville on 12/15. Collins was a four-year starter at DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, MD for legendary coach, Morgan Wooten. He averaged 15 points and 10.3 rebounds as a senior while leading DeMatha to a 27-5 record.
